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Paper Bodies

Vivitur ingenio

In the two books published in 1543, Vesalius found some ingenious ways in which to represent a three-dimensional body using a two-dimensional page. In the Fabrica, the muscle men are placed in a continuous landscape to emphasize the layers; in the Epitome, Vesalius invites the reader to turn the pages to understand the layers of the body, and also includes a ‘pop-up’, paper manikin.