القانون في الطبّ (MS Arabic 155/The Canon of Medicine)
These images show the cover of and a page from an Arabic Manuscript. Two different ways of depicting the human body are shown: on the cover, bodies are realistic and decorative, while on the inner page, the body is not realistic, instead abstracted for easier labeling and depiction of internal structures.
The context of this book as medicinal is important for interpretation of its design. If the viewer only saw the internal page they may imagine that the artist simply designed people poorly. After viewing the cover, though, it becomes clear that artists of the place and time were capable of rendering realistic bodies, and the abstraction of the body on the page was a purposeful design choice.
Cover of the manuscript
Diagram with body parts labeled