Top View of a Child’s Fontanel | Anatomical Study of Human Skin and Nail, Jan l'Admiral, 1737

brush, h 117mm × w 146mm More details

Commissioned by doctors, Jan l’Admiral made detailed anatomical design drawings, of which he later made prints to illustrate their medical treatises. He probably chose parchment because the ‘living’ character of the material suited the subjects. The skull belonged to an unknown child who died before birth. The skin was that of an Ethiopian woman, which begs the question of how the doctors obtained their study materials.