This paper argues for a renewed consideration of the human figures etched by Giovanni Battista Bracelli (d. 1649) in his Bizzarie di Varie Figure. Published in Livorno in 1624 and dedicated to Pietro de’ Medici, the work has been of great interest to modern artists, but within the context of the late Italian Renaissance it is considered anomalous and merely playful. A more careful study, however, suggests otherwise. Bracelli’s distorted and fantastical bodies were firmly rooted in artistic traditions informed by academic and popular culture of the time. In the postures and faces of his figures, the characters of the Commedia dell’arte appear in exaggeration, from the giullari (minstrels) to the buffoni (clown). And through Bracelli’s lens, the naturalistic bodies of Jacques Callot’s[aut]Callot, Jacques Varie Figure are freed from their flesh, then contorted in ways reminiscent of popular puppetry of the time. At their heart, these deconstructed bodies blend anatomical models proposed by Italian physicians, such as Fabricius ab Acquapendente, with Benedetto Varchi’s[aut]Varchi, Benedetto humanist discourse on the monstrous body. Bracelli took each of these strands and braided them into a unique portrait of early modern humanity. By looking at the many traditions that inform Bracelli’s etchings, we gain a new view of his work, one hinging less on the abnormality of his bodies and more on understanding those bodies as artistic amalgams of anatomical studies and popular dramatic entertainment.