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Valverde 1586 Title Page

Juan de Valverde. La anatomia del corpo umano. In Venetia nella Stamperia de Giunti, 1586. This title page from the 1586 Venetian edition shares many features with the 1560 version, including a depiction of a pig and a monkey, and scenes of dissection. The skin of a satyr that stretches over the top of the central cartouche is the most striking difference. This refers to the Greek legend of Apollo and Marsyas. Marsyas was a satyr who engaged in a music contest with Apollo, with the condition that the winner could inflict whatever punishment they desired upon the loser. When Marsyas lost, Apollo skinned him alive.