[Vesalius or the fascinating encounter of art and anatomy]

The De Humani Corporis Fabrica is an essential moment in the history of western civilization. Being a headline of the Renaissance, it is far more than an anatomical textbook and an artistic masterpiece, that will stay unrivalled for a long time. The Fabrica indeed gives us a new vision of Man and of the World, bound together with an unprecedented rise of science and technology, providing Europe with the opportunity to outpace decisively the parallel civilizations. In this respect, we analyse the Fabrica both in its scientific and its artistic aspect; we show that if Vesalius takes part in the anatomical revolution in his time, it is too schematic to call him "the father of modern anatomy" while other anatomists of his time also took part in that revolution. On the other hand, the radically enforced a new view of the human body that will stamp anatomical knowledge and its practice for several centuries.