Anatomical Wax, Gallery Comparative Anatomy, Circa 1880

Cote cliché: 09-575178
Inventory Number: P4460
Fund: Photographs
Title: Anatomical wax
Description: Gallery comparative anatomy, circa 1880
Author: Petit Pierre Lanith (1831-1909)
Photo credit: Contact us in advance for monographs, exhibition panels, commercial editions, advertising and communication. An additional proof be sent to the museum. (C) National Museum of Natural History, Dist. RMN / image MNHN, Central Library
Period: 19th century
Date: 1880
Location: Paris, National Museum of Natural History, Central Library

Click on image to see much larger, more interesting image. Via RMN found via Bits and Bites Tumblr.

Tomorrow Night at Observatory! "Three Unique Medical Museums in Northern Italy," Lecture by Marie Dauenheimer

Just a quick reminder: tomorrow night at Observatory! Marie Dauenheimer--the curator of the "Anatomical Art: Dissection to Illustration" exhibition discussed in this recent post--will be on hand at Observatory to deliver an illustrated lecture that "will survey the collections of three unique and often over-looked anatomical museums in Northern Italy." You can read a full description here. Full event details follow; hope very much to see you there!

Three Unique Medical Museums in Northern Italy
An illustrated presentation by Marie Dauenheimer of the Vesalius Trust
Date: May 1, 2010
Time: 8:00 P.M.
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Tonight’s visual presentation by Marie Dauenheimer will survey the collections of three unique and often over-looked anatomical museums in Northern Italy which Dauenheimer toured as part of last years Vesalius Trust “Art and Anatomy Tour.” First, the University of Florence Museum of Pathological Anatomy, famous for its collection of wax pathological models created in the 19th century, including an amazing life size leper; then The Museum of Human Anatomy in Bologna featuring the work of famed wax modeling team of Anna Morandi Manzolini and her husband Giovanni Manzolini, whose life size wax models inspired Clement Susini and the wax-modeling workshop in Florence (see image above); and lastly the fascinating University of Pavia Museum of Anatomy, which houses the beautiful 18th century frescoed dissection theater, where anatomist Antonio Scarpa. So join us tonight for wine, fellowship, and a virtual and very visual tour of some of the finest and most fascinating medical museums of Italy!

Marie Dauenheimer is a Board Certified Medical Illustrator working in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. She specializes in creating medical illustrations and animations for educational materials, including posters, brochures, books, websites and interactive media. Since 1997 Marie has organized and led numerous “Art and Anatomy Tours” throughout Europe for the Vesalius Trust. Past tours have explored anatomical museums, rare book collections and dissection theatres in Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Scotland and England. In addition to illustrating Marie teaches drawing, life drawing and human and animal anatomy at the Art Institute of Washington. Part of Marie’s anatomy class involves study and drawing from cadavers in the Anatomy Lab at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC (for more on that, see this recent post).

You can find out more about this presentation here. You can get directions to Observatory--which is next door to the Morbid Anatomy Library--by clicking here. You can find out more about Observatory here, join our mailing list by clicking here, and join us on Facebook by clicking here. To learn more about Marie's "Anatomical Art: Dissection to Illustration" exhibition, click here. For more on the Vesalius Trust, click here.

Image: Self-portrait of wax modeller Anna Morandi Manzolini dissecting a human brain, Bologna, c. 1760; Via Scienza a Due Voci

"Three Unique Medical Museums in Northern Italy," Lecture by Marie Dauenheimer, Observatory, Saturday May 1

This Saturday night, Marie Dauenheimer--the curator of the "Anatomical Art: Dissection to Illustration" exhibition discussed in yesterday's post--will be on hand at Observatory to deliver an illustrated lecture that "will survey the collections of three unique and often over-looked anatomical museums in Northern Italy." One of the museums discussed will be The Museum of Human Anatomy in Bologna, which houses--among other works--an incredible wax self-portrait of Anna Morandi Manzolini dissecting a brain (c. 1760 ; see above). The other two musems she will discuss will be the fantastic and difficult-to-access University of Florence Museum of Pathological Anatomy and the University of Pavia Museum of Anatomy.

Marie--who also leads tours of medical museums for the Vesalius Trust (as discussed in this recent post)--is an excellent speaker; her lecture on Italian Wax Anatomical Models in European Collections, which she gave about a year ago, was beloved by all, and we are exceptionally pleased to be hosting her again!

Full details follow; hope very much to see you there!

Three Unique Medical Museums in Northern Italy
An illustrated presentation by Marie Dauenheimer of the Vesalius Trust
Date: May 1, 2010
Time: 8:00 P.M.
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Tonight’s visual presentation by Marie Dauenheimer will survey the collections of three unique and often over-looked anatomical museums in Northern Italy which Dauenheimer toured as part of last years Vesalius Trust “Art and Anatomy Tour.” First, the University of Florence Museum of Pathological Anatomy, famous for its collection of wax pathological models created in the 19th century, including an amazing life size leper; then The Museum of Human Anatomy in Bologna featuring the work of famed wax modeling team of Anna Morandi Manzolini and her husband Giovanni Manzolini, whose life size wax models inspired Clement Susini and the wax-modeling workshop in Florence (see image above); and lastly the fascinating University of Pavia Museum of Anatomy, which houses the beautiful 18th century frescoed dissection theater, where anatomist Antonio Scarpa. So join us tonight for wine, fellowship, and a virtual and very visual tour of some of the finest and most fascinating medical museums of Italy!

Marie Dauenheimer is a Board Certified Medical Illustrator working in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. She specializes in creating medical illustrations and animations for educational materials, including posters, brochures, books, websites and interactive media. Since 1997 Marie has organized and led numerous “Art and Anatomy Tours” throughout Europe for the Vesalius Trust. Past tours have explored anatomical museums, rare book collections and dissection theatres in Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Scotland and England. In addition to illustrating Marie teaches drawing, life drawing and human and animal anatomy at the Art Institute of Washington. Part of Marie’s anatomy class involves study and drawing from cadavers in the Anatomy Lab at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC (for more on that, see this recent post).

You can find out more about this presentation here. You can get directions to Observatory--which is next door to the Morbid Anatomy Library--by clicking here. You can find out more about Observatory here, join our mailing list by clicking here, and join us on Facebook by clicking here. To learn more about Marie's "Anatomical Art: Dissection to Illustration" exhibition, click here. For more on the Vesalius Trust, click here.

Image: Self-portrait of wax modeller Anna Morandi Manzolini dissecting a human brain, Bologna, c. 1760; Via Scienza a Due Voci

Caterina de Julianis (1695-1742), Student of Gaetano Giulio Zumbo (1656-1701)

I have just made the happy discovery of the work of Caterina de Julianis (1695-1742), Neapolitan nun, master waxworker, and student of the Sicilian Abbot cum master waxworker Gaetano Giulio Zumbo (1656-1701). Zumbo was infamous in his time for his miniature allegorical waxworks depicting humans in the throes of death, disease, and decomposition; these artworks were found revolting by most, but beloved by a few, among them the Marquis de Sade. Zumbo is also famously known as the grandfather of the wax anatomical modeling tradition, as discussed in this recent blog post.

Julianis' work is so similar to that of her master--featuring waxwork miniatures, memento mori imagery and themes, and masterfully rendered macabre images of death and disease--that her work is often wrongly attributed to the better-known Zumbo; sometimes true ownership cannot be determined. Case in point: the top image is attributed on Victoria and Albert Museum website to both Julianis and Zumbo. The bottom image, from the same source, is entitled "Time and Death" and is attributed soley to Julianis, with a mention that it was, until recently, attributed to Zumbo. The full caption reads:

Time and Death, before 1727
Relief, Italy (probably Naples, made), Coloured and moulded wax
Purchased by the V&A under the bequest of Dr W.L. Hildburgh

The scene is set in a crumbling graveyard, with the winged figure of Father Time seated on the left pointing to a clock, while a half-draped emaciated figure of a smiling beggar, seated on the other side of the clock, solicits alms; a papal tiara lies at his feet. One small discoloured and decaying corpse lies in front of Time, while another corpse with entrails revealed lies beside him, surrounded by rats, snakes and skulls. A dead youth is stretched out on the right, while on the extreme right the crowned skeletal figure of Death holding a spear looks on. Ivy trails over the surrounding stonework; the sloping ground gives a sense of theatricality to the whole. The painted background depicts decaying funerary monuments.

This highly realistic and dramatic wax tableau was a memento mori, intended to inspire thoughts on mortality. Until recently it was attributed to the wax sculptor Gaetano Giulio Zumbo or Zummo (1656-1701), but it has now been convincingly reassigned to Caterina de Julianis. This artist was a Neapolitan nun who specialized in wax modelling. The piece was inspired by Zumbo's works, and the dead youth was in fact based on a figure of a dead bare-breasted woman in one of his wax compositions; because the present work was intended for a church this figure was transformed into a male subject. Coloured wax was the ideal medium for such morbidly realistic scenes, and the artist has been able to convey with astonishing illusionism the textures of stone, flesh and drapery. Wax figures could be formed from moulds, as well as modelled, and so copies and variations of compositions were easily made. A closely similar composition known to be by Caterina de Julianis is in the Chiesa dell'Immacolata in Catanzaro, previously in Bishop Emmanuel Spinelli's palace, and dating from before 1727.

It appears that one or both of these reliefs were featured in a recent exhibition at the V and A entitled "Baroque 1620-1800: Style in the Age of Magnificence." You can visit the online exhibition by clicking here; you can order a copy of the catalog (as I just did!) by clicking here. Both images from the V and A website; more on both objects here; click on images to see larger, finer image.

Addendum:
If the work of Zumbo is of interest, it has just come to my attention that one of Zumbo's recently restored artworks--described as "a gruesome scene showing a group of decomposing syphilis victims" (see below)

is on view for a limited time (until January 31st) at Florence's Museo dell'Opificio. For more on the piece and the exhibition, click here. And if these sorts of models hold some interest for you, you might also want to check out Daniel Neuberger's "Allegory on the Death of the Emperor Ferdinand" of 1657, which can be seen at the Ecclesiastical Treasury in Vienna and was featured in a recent MA post; click here to see it and find out more.

Zoe Leonard on the Uncanny Allure of Wax Anatomical Models

“I first saw a picture of the anatomical wax model of a woman with pearls in a guidebook on Vienna. She struck a chord in me. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. She seemed to contain all I wanted to say at that moment, about feeling gutted, displayed. Caught as an object of desire and horror at the same time. She also seemed relevant to me in terms of medical history, a gaping example of sexism in medicine. The perversity of those pearls, that long blond hair. I went on with this work even though it is gory and depressing because the images seem to reveal so much.”--Zoe Leonard, Journal of Contemporary Art

You can read the whole article--which investigates the use and meaning of wax anatomical models in the work of contemporary artist Zoe Leonard--by clicking here.

Images from original post; Top: "Anatomical Model of a Woman’s Head Crying", 1993 , © Zoe Leonard; Bottom: "Wax Anatomical Model (Shot Crooked from Above)", 1990, © Zoe Leonard

"Monsieur Vénus", Rachilde, 1884

In the Vénérande Mansion, in the left wing, whose shutters are always closed, there is a walled chamber.

That room is as blue as a cloudless sky, and on the bed shaped like a shell, an Eros of marble watches over a wax figure covered with transparent rubber. The red hair, the fair eyelashes, the gold hair of the chest are natural; the teeth that are in the mouth, and the nails on the hands and feet, have been torn from a corpse. The enameled eyes have an adorable look.

The walled chamber has a door hidden in the draperies of the dressing room. At night, sometimes a woman dressed in mourning, and sometimes a young man in evening clothes, opens this door.

One or the other kneels at the foot of the bed, and, after contemplating at length the marvelous lines of the wax statue, embraces it, and kisses it on its mouth. A hidden spring, installed at the inside of the hips, connects with the mouth and brings it to life.

This wax figure, an anatomical masterpiece, was fabricated by a German.

--Monsieur Vénus, Rachilde, 1884

So ends the lurid Monsieur Vénus, published by Rachilde in 1884, via a translation featured in Zone Books' The Decadent Reader: Fiction, Fantasy, and Perversion from Fin-de-Siècle France; Click here to find out more.

Image from cover of the wonderful book Flesh and Wax: Clemente Susini's Anatomical Wax in Cagliari University. Click here for more about this book. Click on image to see much larger and lovelier version.

"Exqusite Bodies" Press

The preview for the exhibit "Exquisite Bodies" at the Wellcome Collection last night was fantastic. So is the onslaught of press to greet my slightly hung-over self this morning. Here are 2 of my favorites thus far: the audio slide-show featuring narration by curator Kate Forde on the BBC website (click here) and the review in The Londonist which ends with the line "Gruesomely glorious stuff and a must-see for anyone without syphilis" (click here.) Check 'em out! Not quite as good as seeing the exhibition in person (more about that here), but a good start.

Tomorrow is the Opening Night of "Exquisite Bodies" at the Wellcome Collection!

I got a sneak peak of the Wellcome Collection's upcoming "Exquisite Bodies" exhibition yesterday and can assure you that it is indeed quite marvelous! The preview of the show is tomorrow evening; it will be open to the public beginning the following day, Thursday July 30th.

To get a sense of just how marvelous this exhibition is, check out the article "Graphic and Ghoulish: The Wellcome's Cadaverous Exquisite Bodies Show"--which describes the exhibition as "Part fairground attraction, part science lesson"-- and the accompanying photo gallery featured in today's Guardian. The images you see above--drawn from this gallery--are just the tip of the iceberg of what you'll find there! And, of course, if you can, you absolutely must see this exhibition in person. Even these wonderful photos fail to do justice to the artifacts and the experience of viewing them in the lush Victorian parlour-inspired Wellcome installation.

Click here to see the article, here to see the photo gallery (from which I've drawn these images), and here to find out more about the exhibition.

Two Videos Related to the Wellcome Collection's Upcoming "Exquisite Bodies" Exhibition

I have just come across two fascinating videos related to the Wellcome Collection's upcoming exhibition "Exquisite Bodies." The first, entitled "How to Make a Wax Model," features waxwork artist Eleanor Crook who sculpts an anatomical wax on camera while discussing her process and the history of anatomical waxworks and wax-artistry. The other video follows "Exquisite Bodies" curator Kate Forde as she takes us on a walk-through of some of the fascinating objects that will be included in the "Exquisite Bodies" exhibition, including the truly spectacular 18th Century anatomical Venus from the famed La Specola workshop in Florence (see above). She discusses the history of these artifacts in the context of the wider history of anatomical artworks and, when applicable, does what is sadly impossible in an exhibition-- demonstrates their ingenious movable parts.

To watch "How to Make a Wax Model" with Eleanor Crook, click here. To watch "Exquisite Bodies: Curator's Perspective," click here. For more on the exhibition itself (which I predict will be seriously amazing) click here.

"Exquisite Bodies: or the Curious and Grotesque History of the Anatomical Model," Exhibition, July 30 - October 18, Wellcome Collection, London

[the] exhibition "Exquisite Bodies: or the Curious and Grotesque History of the Anatomical Model" is inspired by the craze for anatomy museums during the 19th century, when displays of wax models conveyed information about the human body to wider audiences than ever before. ‘Exquisite Bodies’ includes a superb variety of historic anatomical waxes, from the academic to the fantastical, examining how they circulated in contexts as disparate as the laboratory and the fairground. --Kate Forde, Curator, the Wellcome Collection

The Wellcome Collection--by far my favorite contemporary medical museum--is launching an incredibly exciting new exhibition, which I have had the honor and delight of participating in as curatorial adviser and graphic designer. Thus the long gap in my blog posting, for which I apologize.

Entitled "Exquisite Bodies: or the Curious and Grotesque History of the Anatomical Model" and running from July 30 to October 18 2009, this exhibition takes as subject the under-appreciated and rarely glossed history of the popular anatomical display (see recent MA posts here, here, here, here and here). Popular anatomical displays were a kind of popular, spectacular, democratized version of scholarly or professional medical museums. Often exhibiting objects intended for (or perhaps even once presented in) an academic context, these displays--which were extremely popular in the 19th Century and could be widely found at fairgrounds and in "popular anatomical museums" until the beginning of the 20th Century-blended education and entertainment, public health and spectacle, scholarship and prurience for a mass audience.

The centerpiece of these displays was usually the Anatomical Venus--a beautiful, life-like woman, generally made of wax, often life-sized, and demonstrating--upon the delicate removal of her breastplate--the mysteries of the inner female body (see 5th image down; more on this concept here and here). This central Venus was generally supplemented by waxes and other sorts of models, wet preparations, and illustrations parsing topics such as the ideal and compromised female body, the ravages of sexually transmitted diseases, the aberrant body (ie. freaks; see bearded lady, 2nd image), the mysteries of generation, and the ill effects of spermatorhea (aka "abnormally frequent emission of the semen without copulation", seen as a real public health issue at the time).

The exhibition will bring together an amazing collection of models--many of them breathtakingly exquisite waxes--and ephemera never seen together under one roof. Objects have been drawn from--in the proud tradition of the popular anatomical displays to which this exhibition pays tribute--both academic and popular collections. Objects from The Gordon Museum of London, The Museum Dr Guislain of Ghent, Musée de la Médicine in Brussels, the University of Cambridge, the London Science Museum, and the Wellcome Library will be featured.

Here's more about the exhibition and the phenomenon of popular medical displays, from the Wellcome Collection press release:

In the 19th century, despite the best efforts of body snatchers, the demand from medical schools for fresh cadavers far outstripped the supply. One solution to this gruesome problem came in the form of lifelike wax models. These models often took the form of alluring female figures that could be stripped and split into different sections. Other models were more macabre, showing the body ravaged by 'social diseases' such as venereal disease, tuberculosis and alcohol and drug addiction.

With their capacity to titillate as well as educate, anatomical models became sought-after curiosities; displayed not only in dissecting rooms but also in sideshows and the curiosity cabinets of wealthy Victorian gentlemen. For a small admission fee, visitors seeking an unusual afternoon's entertainment could visit displays of these strange dolls in London, Paris, Brussels and Barcelona.

This show promises to be truly marvelous in every sense of the word. If you find yourself in London between July 30th and October 18th, be sure to check it out! And drop me a line and let me know what you think!

To find out more about the exhibition, click here. To visit the Wellcome image gallery related to the exhibition (from where many of the above images are drawn), click here. To play with the Wellcome interactive Anatomical Venus (!!!), click here.

All of the above images are of objects that will be included in the exhibition. Captions, top to bottom:

1) Head exhibiting syphilis, c.1900, Collection Family Coolen, Antwerp/Museum Dr Guislain, Ghent, Belgium

2) Bearded lady, Undated (c. 1900), Collection Family Coolen, Antwerp/Museum Dr Guislain, Ghent, Belgium

3) Extraction of the placenta: Plaster relief from a series illustrating the stages of childbirth, Undated (c.1900) Collection Family Coolen, Antwerp/Museum Dr Guislain, Ghent, Belgium

4) Anatomical female figure, Germany, undated (1600-1800), Ivory, The Science Museum, London

5) Wax Venus - anatomical figure made in Florence, 1771-1800, Courtesy of the Science Museum, London

6) Poster from the Roca collection. Collection Family Coolen, Antwerp/Museum Dr Guislain, Ghent, Belgium

Virtual Museum of Le Musée de l'Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris

All of the above images are sourced from the Virtual Museum of Le Musée de l'Hôpital Saint-Louis, which I found via the Titam et le Sirop d'Érable Blog. Click here to visit the virtual museum, find out more about the individual pieces, and see more moulages. Click here to see original post (translated from the French), which has a nice introduction to the collection and to Jules Baretta, the moulage artist who created the works. Click here to visit the website of Le Musée de l'Hôpital Saint-Louis.

Second Nature: International Journal of Creative Media, Vol 1, No 1 (2009)

Shirlee Saul, proprietress of Memory Palace and Curiosity Cabinet (as well as a really wonderful Flickr photostream) is now also the editor of a new journal "Second Nature: International Journal of Creative Media." Volume One, Issue One--which has just launched, in web and PoD Lulu format--is themed "Role Models," and includes a beautifully presented piece on Anatomical Theatre, a photographic exhibition of medical museums that I launched a few years ago. The rest of the journal looks to be pretty interesting as well; here is a description of the journal and this particular issue, from the Lulu page:

Second Nature: The International Journal of Creative Media is a new open access, peer-reviewed online journal that explores the distinctive particulars of and interconnections between textual, visual, aural and interactive creative research and practices. This issue, 'Role Models', is headlined by a keynote article 'Down with the Design Professions!' from eminent MIT scholar, Prof. William J. Mitchell. Articles by other scholars and researchers tease out some of the issues and ideas suggested by Mitchell, interrogating the theme 'role models' from a variety of angles. The journal's 'Projects' include suites of photography -- suggesting non-linguistic approaches to the conceptual and creative challenges and opportunities that the past poses for the present.

You can peruse the entire journal online by clicking here. You can view the Shirlee's piece on Anatomical Theatre by clicking here; click here for more on the exhibition. You can order a hard copy of the journal--full color and 200 pages!--by clicking here. The theme of issue 2, incidentally, will be "Mobile Gaming and Haptic Screen Cultures;" if you are interested in submitting a paper or in finding out more, click here.

Pathological Waxworks, "Palacio de la Escuela de Medicina", Mexico City

Morbid Anatomy reader Jason Plumb just alerted me to an amazing photoset (from which the above images are drawn) of pathological waxes on display at the Palacio de la Escuela de Medicina in Mexico City. The photos were taken by Daniel Menche, who apparently was commissioned to give a performance (!!!) in the museum!

You can read more about Menchel's experience on his blog by clicking here; you can see the whole photoset (which I highly recommend you do! This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg!) by clicking here. You can visit the museum website by clicking here.

Thanks, Jason, for sending this along!

Reminder: Tomorrow Night: "Italian Wax Anatomical Models in European Collections," Lecture at Observatory

Just a friendly reminder: Tomorrow night--Friday, April 3rd--will be our next presentation at Observatory; see following for details. This looks to be a good one; hope you can make it!

Morbid Anatomy presents at Observatory:
"Italian Wax Anatomical Models in European Collections"
Marie Dauenheimer, Trustee of the Vesalius Trust and Medical Illustrator
Tomorrow, Friday, April 3rd
Doors open at 7:00; Presentation at 7:30 PM

This illustrated presentation will examine the art and history of the wax anatomical models of the “Museo Zoologico La Specola” in Florence, Italy. Over 2,000 wax models of human anatomy were created by the museum's “Wax Modeling Workshop” from the mid 18th to early 19th century, and the products of their labor--best known to modern audiences through Tachen's Encyclopaedia Anatomica--are considered by many to be the finest anatomical waxworks in the world.

This presentation will address how and why these anatomical masterpieces were created, the artists and anatomists who created them, and the place of these collections in the history of anatomical art. The wax anatomical models of Bologna, which pre-date those of “La Specola,” will also discussed.

Marie Dauenheimer is a board-certified Medical Illustrator living in the Washington D.C. area. She is also a trustee on the board of the Vesalius Trust, a non-profit organization which works to support education and research in medical illustration and related visual communication professions. Marie leads the Vesalius Trust Art and Anatomy tours, which are educational tours of important anatomical museums throughout the world. This year's tour--from October 27 to November 8th--will feature museums in Florence (including "La Specola"), Bologna, Venice, and Padua; for more information about this tour, see this recent post. You can see some of Marie's work by clicking here.

Practical Details
"Italian Wax Anatomical Models in European Collections"
Marie Dauenheimer, Trustee of the Vesalius Trust and Medical Illustrator
Friday, April 3rd
Doors open at 7:00; Presentation at 7:30 PM
Admission: Free
Location: Observatory
543 Union Street (at Nevins) Brooklyn, New York 11215
Entry via Proteus Gowanus Interdisciplinary Gallery and Reading Room; go through back door of gallery, then take a left to find event. Directions here or call 718.243.1572.

To learn more about Observatory, click here; you can also visit our under-construction website by clicking here. To get on mailing list, or if you if you might be interested in presenting an event in the future, email me by clicking here.

Image: Wax Anatomical Venus "La Specola;" Part of the exhibition "Anatomical Theatre."