ABSTRACT
Realdo Colombo’s textbook was published by his sons in 1559, the year after his death.1 It differed significantly from the text that he had originally planned. Rather than a textbook of anatomy abundantly illustrated by Michelangelo it contained only one image, that in the title page. The artist responsible for this has not been identified nor has the engraver. It is unlikely, however, as was thought by some commentators, to have been drawn by Michelangelo, although it does have some striking stylistic similarities to certain of his works. Michelangelo is not, however, absent from the book – he is clearly present as one of the dramatis personae portrayed here. (Figure 14.1).2
