Squares and diopters: the drawing system of a famous anatomical atlas.

The anatomical atlas Tabulae sceleti et musculorum corporis humani (1747) by the Leiden anatomist Bernard Siegfried Albinus (1697-1770) and the Amsterdam draughtsman Jan Wandelaar (1692-1759) has attracted much admiration over the years/ Its large plates, pairing a sharp depiction of anatomical details to a mysterious, dreamlike atmosphere, are a highlight in the history of anatomical illustration as well as one of the most impressive achievements in the graphic arts of eighteenth-century Holland (Figure 1). The most elaborate account of how the Tabulae sceleti et musculorum was made can be found in Hendrik Punt's dissertation Bernard Siegfried Albinus (1697-1770) On 'Human Nature', Anatomical and Physiological Ideas in Eighteenth Century Leiden (1983). This book also contains a reconstruction of the remarkable drawing method that lies at the core of the atlas and which gives it much of its particular character. Punt's reconstruction of this drawing method, however, leaves open some questions. This article — originating from research for an exhibition at the Museum Bocrhaave — is intended to answer those questions.