The Beauty of Anatomy

Season 1

How has what’s inside us been depicted on canvas over the centuries? In this series, Dr Adam Rutherford examines the close relationships between discoveries in anatomy and the works of art that illustrate them. In this passionate and informed program, he meets artists, art critics and art historians, as well as collectors and anatomists, to help him uncover the meaning and power of these pieces.

20142 episodes

Documentary·Special Interest

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S1 E1 - Galen and Leon
August 12, 2014
50min
7+
Art, ideology – and dissection: the close relationship between discoveries in human anatomy and the works of art that illustrate them. In the first of two insightful programs, Dr Adam Rutherford looks at the work of the second-century Roman Empire anatomist, writer and philosopher Claudius Galen alongside Renaissance artist – and part-time dissector – Leonardo da Vinci.
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S1 E2 - Andreas Verslius
August 12, 2014
50min
7+
In 17th-century Holland, dissecting bodies was considered the epitome of high art. Great artists of the age, such as Rembrandt, produced the most beautiful anatomical paintings yet created. Dr Adam Rutherford travels to Dutch cities The Hague and Amsterdam to find out what it was that drew Rembrandt to the cutting edge of medical science.
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