Quick and the Dead Artists and Anatomy

"...despite the book's sins of omission and the usual barnacle covering of academic jargon, 'The Quick and the Dead' rewards the patient reader. Petherbridge uncovers marvelous morsels of historical fact, such as the surreal tale of the 18th-century anatomist who dissected a 'perfectly' classically proportioned body, then strung it up on pulleys like a grotesque marionette and puppeteered it into various poses for an artist to sketch. She's especially engaging on the long-standing association of anatomical and erotic imagery, epitomized by 'anatomical Venuses' like the shapely little 18th-19th­century figurine whose belly opens like a pocket watch to reveal the fetus in utero....Petherbridge, Deanna is the author of 'Quick and the Dead Artists and Anatomy' with ISBN 9780520217386 and ISBN 0520217381.