Flap Anatomies - Women and Babies

Flap anatomies, also known as fugitive sheets in its earlier forms, are three dimensional renderings of human anatomy. By using a flap or series of flaps over an image, the artist is able to create a 3D experience, as the viewer can fold back layers to reveal hidden organs, tissues, and bones. Of interest is the use of flap anatomies to illustrate female anatomy and pregnancy. This taboo subject gained particular momentum in during the Renaissance, leading to an emergence of flap anatomies "prying open the secret of women." These texts demonstrate a shift towards a medicalization of pregnancy as well as a fascination with female anatomy.

Female Anatomy

Anatomie très utile c.1559. Printed by Gyles Godet.

While most flap anatomies concentrate on the male form and used men as the standard model, when female figures where used, the images almost always focus on her sexual parts. An early example of a fugitive sheet depicting the anatomy of a women is in Anatomie très utile: ‘The anatyme of the inwarde partis of man and woman’ (c.1559). In this image, as man and women sit next to eachother, each with flaps allowing a viewer to look inside. As a point of contrast, the many different organ systems appear under the male's flap, whereas only the urinary and reproductive system are shown under the woman's. The woman hold a sign that says,Nosce te ipsum. Knowe thyself, which is perhaps a nod to Reformation values of the time that emphasized verification through personal experience, which included exploring and understanding one's self. Along with this, Protestents and Lutherans of the time argued that faith was strengthened through appreciation of the human form, which might explain the shift of the religious publisher of the book from previously conservative books. This image serves as an example of an emergence of permission to learn about female anatomy.

The woman [anatomical fugitive sheet]. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Lock and Key

Some flap anatomies, particularly those displaying the female body and discussing female sexuality, were considered obscene for the time and not appropriate for a wider audience. In the period of the late 1800s, a movement advocating for sex education and anatomical understanding was popularized. In alignment with this movement, books including detailed anatomical drawings of genital anatomy, such as M. Platen's Livre D'Or De Santeì (1909) and Physicians' Anatomical Aid (1880-1890), were published, but kept under lock and key until purchased. It is debated whether the lock was purely used to encourage interest in the books or as a way to deter unsuited readers, such as young boys.

Pregnancy and Childbirth

Image of childbirth from Spratt's "Obstectric Tables"

With the advent of new printing technology, flap anatomies were able to publish in color.One of the more famous uses of this new technology used to explore pregnancy was George Spratt's Obstetric Tables (1847). The book includes graphic images of women's genitals as well as detailed depictions of fetal development childbirth, including vaginal and cesarean delivery. Spratt used hand-colored lithograph images