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Source Description
Michelangelo was among the first artists in Europe to attend a human dissection and to adopt anatomical knowledge as a necessity for depicting the human figure. These drawings by Battista Franco reflect the increased—and slightly macabre—interest in the interior workings of the human body inspired in part by Michelangelo’s example. Here, the groupings of rib cages, though rendered accurately, are placed into decorative piles. The odd assembly vacillates between scientific study and a symbolic memento mori, or reminder of death.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
140473
label
Rib Cages
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
140473
contentType
drawing
title
Rib Cages
description
Michelangelo was among the first artists in Europe to attend a human dissection and to adopt anatomical knowledge as a necessity for depicting the human figure. These drawings by Battista Franco reflect the increased—and slightly macabre—interest in the interior workings of the human body inspired in part by Michelangelo’s example. Here, the groupings of rib cages, though rendered accurately, are placed into decorative piles. The odd assembly vacillates between scientific study and a symbolic memento mori, or reminder of death.
date
early 1540s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80038805
creators
300711
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 11.6 x 23.8 cm (4 9/16 x 9 3/8 in.); Secondary Support: 11.6 x 23.8 cm (4 9/16 x 9 3/8 in.)
cul
Italy, 16th century
accession
1964.383
Source extras
tec
pen and brown ink
tombstone
Rib Cages, early 1540s. Battista Franco (Italian, c. 1510–1561). Pen and brown ink; sheet: 11.6 x 23.8 cm (4 9/16 x 9 3/8 in.); secondary support: 11.6 x 23.8 cm (4 9/16 x 9 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Claude Cassirer, 1964.383
supportMaterials
description
beige(1) laid paper, laid down on cream(3) laid(?) paper
collection
DR - Italian
citations
citation
Richards, Louise S. “Drawings by Battista Franco.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 52, no. 8 (October 1965): 106–112.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 109; Reproduced: p. 111, fig. 5
citation
Kornell, Monique. “Anatomical Drawings by Battista Franco.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 76, no. 9 (November 1989): 302–325.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 314-315, fig. 14, Cover
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Claude Cassirer
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:13:05.543000
sourceId
140473
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - Italian
med
pen and brown ink
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
7ab41de45a76b693