Anatomical figure showing muscles

Andreas Vesalius was born in 1514 in Brussels, Belgium. He studied medicine at the University of Louvain and then in Paris. He moved to Padua, home at the time to one of the most important medical schools in Europe. He completed his doctorate and was appointed as anatomical demonstrator and lectured on anatomy. Vesalius emphasised the importance of dissection in the study of anatomy.

The 'De Humani Corporis Fabrica' (On the Fabric of the Human Body), published in Basel in 1543, was a beautifully illustrated and influential anatomical textbook. One of the most striking features of the illustrations are the 'muscle men' figures in striking poses surrounded by landscape. After publication of the book, Vesalius was appointed Imperial Physician to Emperor Charles V. He died in 1564.