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William Hogarth: "The Anatomy Lesson (The Reward of Cruelty)", 1751.

This is the last plate (here slightly trimmed at the edges) from the series "The Four Stages of Cruelty", showing the ruthless character Tom Nero ending his days on the dissecting table. At this time criminals in England were often sentenced both to death and dissection. This image is referring to this and is also a pastiche of the title-page of Vesalius' De Humani corporis fabrica. Many artists learned anatomy from lessons at the same "anatomical theaters" as physicians. Hogarth's series of prints were widely pirated and this even led to two special copyright laws regarding prints in England, 1735 and 1766.

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