In the artist’s words:

“In the sixth book of ‘De Humani Corporis Fabrica libris septum’ of 1543, Andreas Vesalius, Belgian scientist and founder of modern anatomy, performed a detailed dissection of the human heart. In his book, this dissection is discussed and illustrated with 12 woodcuts by Johan Stefan von Calcar, his regular illustrator. As a technical production, it ranks high in terms of quality, and its artwork, the co-production of anatomist, artist, block-cutter and printer, solved at a stroke many of the difficulties involved in representing a three-dimensional object on the printed page. I found it a real challenge to recreate the three-dimensionality.”

Seven of the illustrations are made in wax and can be purchased separately, presented in beautifully handcrafted wooden frames with protective glass. ‘Vesalian flower of the human heart’ or in Latin ‘Cordis humani flos Vesalianus’.

Behold the heart, surrounded by parts of the lungs, resembling the flower petals of a violet.

Materials: Wax, oil paint, wooden frame 
Measurements of the small sculpture: 7 cm x 5 cm x 2 cm
Measurements framed: 12.5 cm x 12.5 cm x 4 cm

Chantal Pollier (1965) graduated in Psychoanalysis and clinical consulting at the University of Ghent in 1990, she also graduated in sculptural and moulage techniques at the KASK (Royal Academy of the Arts of Ghent) in 1991. Having to make a choice, in 2001 she goes for the life as an artist, never forgetting her psychological roots. She works in her studio in Ghent, doing occasional restoration work on contemporary sculptures in stone, exhibits on a regular basis and is curator of several exhibitions, preferably in collaboration with scientific institutions.

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