Art and Anatomy Tours

Vesalius Trust Art and Anatomy Tours

The Vesalius Trust Art and Anatomy tours are educational travel experiences for medical illustrators and others interested in the history of anatomy, medicine and anatomical art. The tours average 10-13 days in length. These tours started in 1994 with an initial proposal written by Marie Dauenheimer and presented to the VT board by Bill Andrews and Marcia Hartsock.

Working in conjunction with tour operator International Seminar Design, Inc. and Prof. Giliola Gamberini at the University of Bologna the first tour occurred in May 1997. The group of 13 traveled to anatomy and art museums, anatomical theatres and other historic sites in Florence, Siena, Bologna and Padua.

In October 2001 the group of 10 traveled to Paris and environs. After attending the Association Européenne des Illustrateurs Médicaux et Scientifiques (AEIMS) conference in Paris the group focused on tours of artist’s homes and studios including Monet’s “Giverny”, Van Gogh’s last home in Auvers-suri-Oise and Rosa Bonheur’s Chateau de By in Thomery. Paris based medical illustrators; Antoine Barnaud and Merri Nordman Scheitland, arranged for the group to visit numerous art and anatomy museums not open to the public.

In November 2003 the third “Art and Anatomy” tour explored The Netherlands and Belgium with expert guide Nick Fritz. The group of 12 traveled to Amsterdam, Haarlem, The Hague, Delft, Brussels, and Bruges and attended the AEIMS conference in Leiden. Highlights of the tour included seeing the famous Rembrandt painting “Dr. Tulp’s Anatomy Lesson” at the Mauritshuis, viewing the original Albinus Atlas drawings by Jan Wanderlaar at the Leiden University Library and viewing an amazing collection of rare anatomical and medical books at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem.

In October 2006 the fourth tour explored England and Scotland with medical historian /guide Susan Weir. The group of 9 traveled to medical, anatomical and art collections in Bath, Bristol, London, Oxford and Edinburgh. The AEIMS conference was held in Bristol, England and was hosted by former Netter Award winner Margot Cooper at her medical model headquarters “Limbs and Things”.

The Tour of October/November 2009 and had a record breaking number of attendees: 19. The group toured anatomical and artistic points of interest in Florence, Bologna, Padua, Venice, Pavia and Milan. In addition to attending the AEIMS Conference in Milan the group had a private tour of the University of Bologna’s Scuola di Disegno Anatomico at the Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, the oldest medical illustration program in Europe. Other tour highlights included a visit to La Specola to see the famous collection of wax anatomical models, the Teatro Anatomico in Bologna. Teatro Anatomico at the University of Padua and the anatomy museum at the University of Pavia.

All the tours carry CEUs and include attendance at the Association Européenne des Illustrateurs Médicaux et Scientifiques conference.

For more information, contact:

Marie Dauenheimer
703.648.9038
dauenheimer@erols.com

PREVIOUS TRIPS:
(Please “right click” and “save as” to download these Powerpoint Presentations)

Holland and Belgium Itinerary
England and Scotland 2006 Slideshow
Holland and Belgium Slideshow