Plate IV, Anatomie by Louis-Jacques Goussier

Plate IV, Anatomie by Louis-Jacques Goussier
C. 1751
Engraving with Etching

This meticulously detailed engraving depicts the human muscular system from an anterior perspective, exposing the body's major muscle groups through precise anatomical rendering. The plate was engraved by Robert Bénard and reflects the broader eighteenth-century anatomical tradition strongly shaped by Bernhard Siegfried Albinus’s Tabulae sceleti et musculorum corporis humani (1747), a canonical reference work whose systematic dissections and highly structured plates were widely circulated and adapted in European medical publishing. The composition carefully delineates the layered structure of the musculature with precision, offering a clear schematic representation of the body’s anterior muscular architecture.

This antique print originates from Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, the monumental reference work edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Published in Paris between 1751 and 1772, the original folio edition comprised 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of engraved plates, containing more than 72,000 articles contributed by over 140 writers, scientists, philosophers, and artisans. Conceived as a comprehensive survey of human knowledge, the Encyclopédie documented the sciences, crafts, technologies, and fine arts while also serving as a powerful vehicle for the intellectual ideals of the French Enlightenment. Its emphasis on reason, empirical inquiry, and the dissemination of knowledge challenged traditional authorities and helped shape modern thought, making it one of the most influential publications of the eighteenth century.

Dimensions: H 15” x 10 ¼” W

Condition: insect damage on bottom right, some foxing consistent with age