This Saturday, May 18th: Celebrate The London Hunterian's 200th Birthday With Lectures, Reception, and Book Release Party for "Medical Museums: Past, Present and Future" With Chapter by Morbid Anatomy!

This Saturday, May 18th, London's Hunterian Museum will be celebrating its 200th birthday (!!!!!) with a series of lectures, a late view of the new exhibition, and a reception and party for their new, lavishly illustrated and utterly essential collection of essays showcasing medical museums around the world entitled Medical Museums: Past, Present and Future.

The lectures--which begin at 4:30 PM--and reception and late view--beginning at 6:00 PM--are free but require a reservation; a special dinner beginning at 7:30 PM will run you £65; you can RSVP for all at 020 7869 6568.


The book--whose cover you see above--was edited by Hunterian director Samuel Alberti and Dr. Elizabeth Hallam, Universities of Aberdeen and Oxford to commemorate the museums' bicentennial, and is richly illustrated with hundreds of photos of many of the worlds most wonderful medical museums. You will also notice a wee chapter of my own, which features many never before shared photos of medical museum back rooms.

You can find out more about the book in the following press release, and can order a copy by emailing shop [at] rcseng.ac.uk or calling 020 7869 6562.

Hope very much to see you at Saturday's festivities!

Medical Museums: Past, Present and Future
Edited by Samuel J M M Alberti and Elizabeth Hallam

This book brings together a unique collaboration of curators and scholars from Europe and the United States to open up new perspectives on the past, present and future of medical museums.

Offering readers unrivalled access to international collections of preserved animal and human bodies, instruments and art, Medical Museums features many previously unpublished images and untold stories from this fascinating and disturbing world.
Medical Museums is a bold, eclectic anthology that offers readers a unique opportunity to experience this compelling heritage through clearly written, well-informed text and sumptuous images. Insightful essays informed by current debates in medical history, anthropology, museology and visual studies are complemented by astonishing images provided by both well-known and niche museums from around the world. With unparalleled coverage provided by curators, the 17 richly illustrated chapters explore collections from Aberdeen to Zurich including: Berlin (the Charité), Cleveland (the Dittrick), Copenhagen (the Medical Museion), Edinburgh (Surgeons’ Hall), Florence (La Specola), Leiden, London (the Hunterian Museum, the Science Museum, and Wellcome Collection), Philadelphia (the Mütter), Stockholm (the Karolinska Institute), Washington DC (the National Museum of Health and Medicine and the Smithsonian).

Published by The Royal College of Surgeons of England to commemorate the bicentenary of the Hunterian Museum.

Paperback, 256 pages; H 23, W18cm; 250 b/w and colour illustrations (Code 879)

You can find out more about the events here, and order a copy of the book by emailing shop [at] rcseng.ac.uk or calling 020 7869 6562.

Congdon's Anatomical Museum, Bangkok, Photo Essay on Atlas Obscura

Friend and colleague Michelle Enemark just published a wonderful photo essay about her recent visit to Congdon's Anatomical Museum in Bangkok on the Atlas Obscura website. You can read her article--and see loades more images!--by clicking here; all images above are drawn from that piece. 

Morbid Anatomy Exhibition and Event Series, Viktor Wynd Fine Art/Last Tuesday Society, London, September 2012

As mentioned in a recent post, beginning in just a few days, Morbid Anatomy will be artist-in-residence at Viktor Wynd Fine Art and The Last Tuesday Society in London, England. The residency will span the entire month, and will include an exhibition (photographs from which you see above), as well as a full month's worth of "Morbid Anatomy Presents" programming that will include some seriously amazing lectures, a screening, a "Congress for Curious Peoples" symposium, and a field trip to the rarely open-to-the-public St Bartholomew's Hospital Pathology Museum where I will also give a lecture on the art and history of anatomical museums.

The exhibition, "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," will open with a party next Thursday, September 6 and will premiere a new body of work based on my latest obsession: the through-lines connecting the beautiful, immaculately preserved corpse found in both  the churches and enlightenment-era anatomical museums of Italy. The exhibition, which will feature my own photographs and waxworks by the über-talented Eleanor Crook and Sigrid Sarda. You can download a postcard invitation which contains full information by clicking here.

I have just created pages for each event, which you can find at the Morbid Anatomy Facebook page by clicking here. The list also follows here, for your convenience:

FULL LIST OF EVENTS

Monday, 3rd September 2012, 7 PM
Granta Magazine - Medicine Issue Launch

Tuesday, 4th September 2012, 7 PM
Robert Marbury - Rogue Taxidermy in the Digital Age

Wednesday, 5th September 2012, 7 PM
Dr Sam Alberti of The Hunterian Museum on the History of Medical Museums

Thursday, 6 September 2012, 6-8 PM
Opening Reception for "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," Sponsored by Hendricks Gin

Saturday, 8th September 2012, 11 AM - 5:30 PM
'Congress for Curious People' Seminar - London Edition

Monday, 10th September 2012, 7 PM
Ronni Thomas and The Real Tuesday Weld - 'Midnight Archive' screening

Tuesday, 11th September 2012, 7 PM
Martin Clayton on Leonardo Da Vinci and Dissection

Wednesday, 12th September 2012, 7 PM
Curious Cafés of the Belle Epoque with Vadim Kosmos

Monday, 17th September 2012, 7 PM
Gemma Angel on the History of Human Tattoos

Wednesday, 19th September 2012, 7 PM
Field Trip to St Bart's Pathology Museum with Lecture by Joanna Ebenstein

Thursday, 20th September 2012, 7 PM
Paul Craddock - History of Blood Transfusions

Tuesday, 25th September 2012, 7 PM
Dr. James Kennaway - Bad Vibrations

Wednesday, 26th September 2012, 7 PM
Dr. Pat Morris - Extreme Taxidermy: Elephants and Humans

Thursday, 27th September 2012, 7 PM
Royal Raymond Rife and his Oscillating Beam Ray with Mark Pilkington

Sunday, 30th September 2012, 7 PM
Eleanor Crook on Plastic Surgery of the World Wars

You can find out more about the exhibition here and more about the events here. All of the above images are drawn from the exhibition "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," opening at Viktor Wynde's Fine Art on September 6th with a reception from 6-8, and will be on view through the end of the month. And a special shout out to Jessica Pepper, who so expertly and beautifully retouched these images.

"Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig," Morbid Anatomy Lecture, The Velaslavasay Panorama, LA, The Day After Tomorrow!

Just a reminder; for those of you in the greater Los Angeles area,I would love to see you the night after tomorrow at The Velaslavasay Panorama, where I will be giving a lecture entitled "Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig: A Journey into the Curious World of the Medical Museum." The images above--drawn from my recent photo exhibitions The Secret Museum and Anatomical Theatre--constitute a tiny sampling of the many images I will be showing in the presentation.

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

Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig:
A Journey into the Curious World of the Medical Museum
An Illustrated Lecture by Joanna Ebenstein
_______

The Velaslavasay Panorama
1122 West 24th Street, Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, February 9th, 2012 (The day after tomorrow!)
8 o’clock PM
Tickets $10 {$8 VPES Members, Students, Seniors}
Advance Tickets Available here:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/221012

The Velaslavasay Panorama welcomes photographer and researcher Joanna Ebenstein, who will be here Thursday, February 9th at 8 pm to present an illustrated lecture entitled Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig: A Journey into the Curious World of the Medical Museum. Abounding with images and insight, Ms. Ebenstein’s lecture will introduce you to the Medical Museum and its curious denizens, from the Anatomical Venus to the Slashed Beauty, the allegorical fetal skeleton tableau to the taxidermied bearded lady, the flayed horseman of the apocalypse to the three fetuses dancing a jig. Ebenstein will discuss the history of medical modeling, survey the great artists of the genre, and examine the other death-related arts and amusements which made up the cultural landscape at the time that these objects were originally created, collected, and exhibited.

Joanna Ebenstein is a New York-based artist and independent researcher. She runs the popular Morbid Anatomy Blog and the related Morbid Anatomy Library, where her privately held cabinet of curiosities and research library are made available by appointment. Her work has been shown and published internationally, and she has lectured at museums and conferences around the world. For more information, visit http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com

Tickets available here. You can find out more about the lecture on Flavorpill and in The LA Weekly. You can find out more about the panorama (one of my favorite spots in LA! highly recommended!) by clicking here.

Images top to bottom, as drawn from my recent photo exhibitions The Secret Museum and Anatomical Theatre:

1. "Anatomical Venus" Wax wodel with human hair and pearls in rosewood and Venetian glass case, "La Specola" (Museo di Storia Naturale), Florence, Italy, Probably modeled by Clemente Susini (around 1790)
   
2. "Slashed Beauty" Wax wodel with human hair and pearls in rosewood and Venetian glass case, "La Specola" (Museo di Storia Naturale), Florence, Italy, Probably modeled by Clemente Susini (around 1790)
3. "Anatomical Venuses," Wax Models with human hair in rosewood and Venetian glass cases,The Josephinum, Workshop of Clemente Susini of Florence circa 1780s, Vienna, Austria
4. The Mütter Museum : Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pathological model; 19th Century?
5. Wax Model of Eye Surgery, Musée Orfila, Paris. Courtesy Université Paris Descartes
6. Wax Anatomical Models in Rosewood and Venetian Glass Boxes, The Josephinum, Workshop of Clemente Susini of Florence circa 1780s, Vienna, Austria
7. Wax moulages; Probably by Carl Henning (1860-1917) or Theodor Henning (1897-1946); Early 20th Century; Federal Pathologic-Anatomical Museum (Pathologisch-anatomisches Bundesmuseum): Vienna, Austria, Austria
8. Plaster Models in Pathological Cabinet, The Museum of the Faculty of Medicine at the Jagiellonian University, Krakow
9. Skeleton and hand models for "la médecine opératoire" Musée Orfila, Paris. Courtesy Université Paris Descartes
   

"Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig," Morbid Anatomy Lecture, The Velaslavasay Panorama, Los Angeles, Feb. 9

For those of you in the greater Los Angeles area: I would love to see you next month at at one of my very favorite Los Angeles attractions--The Velaslavasay Panorama--where I will be giving a lecture entitled "Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig: A Journey into the Curious World of the Medical Museum." The images above--drawn from my recent photo exhibitions The Secret Museum and Anatomical Theatre--constitute a tiny sampling of the many images I will be showing in the presentation.

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

Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig:
A Journey into the Curious World of the Medical Museum
An Illustrated Lecture by Joanna Ebenstein
_______

The Velaslavasay Panorama
1122 West 24th Street, Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
8 o’clock PM
Tickets $10 {$8 VPES Members, Students, Seniors}
Advance Tickets Available here:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/221012

The Velaslavasay Panorama welcomes photographer and researcher Joanna Ebenstein, who will be here Thursday, February 9th at 8 pm to present an illustrated lecture entitled Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig: A Journey into the Curious World of the Medical Museum. Abounding with images and insight, Ms. Ebenstein’s lecture will introduce you to the Medical Museum and its curious denizens, from the Anatomical Venus to the Slashed Beauty, the allegorical fetal skeleton tableau to the taxidermied bearded lady, the flayed horseman of the apocalypse to the three fetuses dancing a jig. Ebenstein will discuss the history of medical modeling, survey the great artists of the genre, and examine the other death-related arts and amusements which made up the cultural landscape at the time that these objects were originally created, collected, and exhibited.

Joanna Ebenstein is a New York-based artist and independent researcher. She runs the popular Morbid Anatomy Blog and the related Morbid Anatomy Library, where her privately held cabinet of curiosities and research library are made available by appointment. Her work has been shown and published internationally, and she has lectured at museums and conferences around the world. For more information, visit http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com

Tickets available here. You can find out more about the panorama (one of my favorite spots in LA! highly recommended!) by clicking here.

Images top to bottom, as drawn from my recent photo exhibitions The Secret Museum and Anatomical Theatre:

1. "Anatomical Venus" Wax wodel with human hair and pearls in rosewood and Venetian glass case, "La Specola" (Museo di Storia Naturale), Florence, Italy, Probably modeled by Clemente Susini (around 1790)
   
2. "Slashed Beauty" Wax wodel with human hair and pearls in rosewood and Venetian glass case, "La Specola" (Museo di Storia Naturale), Florence, Italy, Probably modeled by Clemente Susini (around 1790)
3. "Anatomical Venuses," Wax Models with human hair in rosewood and Venetian glass cases,The Josephinum, Workshop of Clemente Susini of Florence circa 1780s, Vienna, Austria
4. The Mütter Museum : Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pathological model; 19th Century?
5. Wax Model of Eye Surgery, Musée Orfila, Paris. Courtesy Université Paris Descartes
6. Wax Anatomical Models in Rosewood and Venetian Glass Boxes, The Josephinum, Workshop of Clemente Susini of Florence circa 1780s, Vienna, Austria
7. Wax moulages; Probably by Carl Henning (1860-1917) or Theodor Henning (1897-1946); Early 20th Century; Federal Pathologic-Anatomical Museum (Pathologisch-anatomisches Bundesmuseum): Vienna, Austria, Austria
8. Plaster Models in Pathological Cabinet, The Museum of the Faculty of Medicine at the Jagiellonian University, Krakow
9. Skeleton and hand models for "la médecine opératoire" Musée Orfila, Paris. Courtesy Université Paris Descartes
   

Amsterdam-Based Museum Vrolik Closed for Redesign; July 29th Last Day to Visit Before it Closes!

This just in from my friend Laurens De Rooy, curator of the fantastic Amsterdam-based Museum Vrolik, specimens of which are pictured above:

Museum Vrolik to close for ten months
Following in the footsteps of other top museums in Amsterdam, the Vrolik Museum will close for refurbishment and redesign from August 2011 to May 2012. The ten-month overhaul of the anatomy museum of the Academic Medical Centre aims to make the unique collection more appealing to a broader public. The 29th of July will be the last opportunity to visit the museum before it closes.

Museum Vrolik has been one of the AMC’s main attractions since 1984. Its collection includes items that are hundreds of years old, with more than ten thousand anatomical specimens in preservative, human and animal skeletons and skulls, and anatomical models and reconstructions. One of the museum’s treasures is the so-called Hovius display case, an 18th-century case full of bones and skulls ravaged by disease collected by physician Jacob Hovius. Of great scientific importance is the collection of congenital defects, including Siamese twins, cyclops and sirens.

An inspiring environment for all with an interest in disease, health, and the human body
With students of medicine and specialists the museum’s original target group, visitors without a medical background would often find the museum’s layout dated or even a little haphazard. Following its refurbishment, the museum should attract a much broader public, and serve as an easily accessible and inspiring learning environment for all with an interest in disease, health and the human body.
The main exhibition will feature the human body with all of its normalities and abnormalities, but the museum will also look into the history of its many different collections, honouring its original founders. The museum was named after Amsterdam professors Gerardus Vrolik (1775-1859) and his son Willem Vrolik (1801-1863), both anatomists and collectors. After their deaths, the Vrolik collection was expanded by other Amsterdam professors of anatomy.

The best exhibits now on show at the Special Collections UvA
During the closure of the museum a number of the museum’s top exhibits will be temporarily on display at the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam (located at Oude Turfmarkt) which will host the exhibition ‘the discovery of man’ from 27 September 2011 to 15 January 2012. Together with Museum Vrolik, the Special Collections will exhibit anatomy atlases and specimens and explore how the dissection of the human body has changed man's view of himself. For further information, go to www.bijzonderecollecties.uva.nl.

Museum Vrolik
Academisch Medisch Centrum
Meibergdreef 15, J0-130 (Medical Faculty)
Open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Admission free
www.amc.nl/vrolik

If this museum and/or the photos above are of interest, make sure to check out the lavishly illustrated publication Forces of Form:The Vrolik Museum which includes these images and more; you can ind out more--or order a copy of your very own!--by clicking here.

Images:

1. Part of a face, with the eye, eyelids and eyebrows (Vrolik collection); Photo by Hans van den Bogaard (all rights reserved)
2. New-born conjoined twins , linked at the chest (thoracopagus) (Vrolik collection); Photo by Hans van den Bogaard (all rights reserved)

Tonight at Observatory! A Virtual Tour of the Anatomical Collections of the University of Groningen with Curator Dr. Rolf ter Sluis!

Tonight at Observatory! Hope very much to see you there!

A Virtual Tour of the Anatomical Collections of the University of Groningen
An illustrated lecture with Dr. Rolf ter Sluis, Curator and Director of the Groningen University Museum
Date: TONIGHT May 24th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5

Tonight, join Dr. Rolf ter Sluis--curator and director of the Netherlands based Groningen University Museum--for a virtual tour of the museum's historic and amazing anatomy and pathology collections. The majority of the collection consists of preparations in spirit, but also includes dry preparations where the veins have been injected with coloured wax, wax and Papier-mâché models, skeletons and skulls, preserved tattooed skin, and much more.

The core of the museum collection is drawn from the private collections of two important 18th century medical scientists, Petrus Camper and Pieter de Riemer. The collection of Camper, professor of medicine from 1763 - 1774, and his son Adriaan Gilles Camper consisted of anatomical, comparing anatomical and biological preparations, fossils, minerals and instruments. The collection was donated to the museum after Camper’s death in 1820 and there are still around 200 of his preparations in the museum collection. Another important part is the collection of the medical scientist Pieter de Riemer (1769 - 1831). He was especially interested in anatomy, surgery and obstetrics. The De Riemer collection, containing more than 900 preparations, came into the hands of the university in 1831.

Dr. Rolf ter Sluis is the Curator and Director of the Groningen University Museum. He also studied history and worked for 25 years as a registered nurse in Anaesthetics before taking on his role as curator and director of the collection.

You can find out more about this event on the Observatory website by clicking here; you can access these event on Facebook here. You can get directions to Observatory--which is next door to the Morbid Anatomy Library (more on that here)--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.

New Book (In English!!!) About Honoré Fragonard's Incredible 18th Century Anatomical Ecorchés!

If the Founding Fathers wanted to visit Body Worlds they could have. Or pretty darn close, at least - they just needed to visit one of the many European cabinets of anatomical curiosities, to see the work of anatomists like Honore Fragonard.

Fragonard's eighteenth-century ecorches were the clear precursors to Gunther von Hagens' "Body Worlds" exhibits: preserved, injected, partially dissected bodies in lifelike, dramatic poses, with ragged strips of muscle draped like primitive clothing over exposed vessels and nerves. The effect is eerie - like a Vesalius illustration sprung to (half-)life... --Bioephemera, "If the Founding Fathers wanted to visit Body Worlds..."

Much has been said--and rightfully!--about the "uncanny similarity" (as one might charitably say) between the anatomical works of Body Worlds' impresario Gunther von Hagens and the 18th Century allegorical anatomical ecorchés of Honoré Fragonard, cousin of well-known rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Bioephemera says it very very well today--as quoted above--and follows with a really nice, extensive review of the new, wonderful, lavishly illustrated Blast Books publication Fragonard Museum: The Ecorches.

To read the entire post on the Bioephemera website--very much recommended!--click here. To order a copy of the book for your very own--also highly recommended!--click here.

The specimens you see above -- and more! -- are housed in the amazing Le Musée de l’Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort (née Musée Fragonard) right outside of Paris; to find out more about that museum, click here. Images as credited; to see more images from the Musée, click here. To visit the museum website, click here.

Image credits and captions:

• Top image: Fragonard's Horseman, found here.
• Second image: Fragonard's man with the mandible, inspired by Samson smiting the Philistines with an ass's jaw, found here.

All other images from the Bioephemera post. Captions, top to bottom:

• Nilgai/Doe of the Indies
• Human Bust
• Human Bust
• Installation view of The Musee Fragonard

The Bolognese "Venerina," Anatomical Venus, Clemente Susini, 1780-1782

The Bolognese "Venerina" is one of the more or less faithful replicas of the original model, the Venere dei Medici, that Clemente Susini (1754-1814) made between 1780-1782 in Florence. The agony of a young woman is represented in her last instant of life as she abandons herself to death voluptuously and completely naked. The thorax and abdomen can be opened, allowing the various parts to be disassembled so as to simulate the act of anatomic dissection.

A virtual dissection, to be carried out by lifting the movable layers or ‘pieces’ to reveal veins, arteries and internal organs. A young woman, the Venerina carries a foetus in her womb – to suggest the procreative potential of the female body – despite the total lack of any outward signs of pregnancy.

The alienating effect that the statue produces by combining anatomical detail, crude and repulsive, with a harmonious and sensual litheness, is the result of a precise scientific choice: sensitivity is an essential quality of matter; sensitivity – with its wide range of manifestations, including the sensuality of the Venerina who surrenders herself to death – lies at the core of the physical and physiological organisation of man.

From the website for the stunning Museo di Palazzo Poggi in Bologna, Italy where the Venerina is housed.

Two Upcoming Events at the Hunterian Museum in London

I have just been alerted to two wonderful looking events at the Hunterian Museum in London by Jane Hughes, head of learning and access; Full details follow; if you're in London, be sure to check out either or both!

The Hunterian After Dark
Date: Friday, November 12th
Time: 6-9 PM
Admission: Free, with pay bar

A rare late-night opening of the museum and a chance to find out about the role of the College in modern surgical training. Enjoy a drink among the historical specimens collected by John Hunter and other eminent surgeons of the 18th and 19th centuries. Also available is an opportunity to tour the new Eagle Project teaching suite, find out about dissection at the College and try your hand at ‘keyhole’ surgery techniques and surgical suturing.

Gorgets and Bistouries: An Evening Encounter
Date: Thursday, December 2
Time: 7-9pm
Admission: £8, includes a glass of wine or soft drink

Artist and musician Matthew Robins and photographic artist, Elaine Duigenan collaborate to bring you a magical encounter with ‘instruments’ – both the musical and surgical. Through words, song, live animation and shadow play they will bring you an unforgettable performance in the realm of ‘The Dreadful and The Divine’.

Enjoy an atmospheric late view of the Hunterian Museum and the exhibition and following in the vein of the moving image, create your own zoetrope inspired by Matthew’s unique art.

Numbers are limited so booking is essential on 020 7869 6560

See more of Matthew's work at www.sadlucy.com and Elaine's work at www.elaineduigenan.com

To find out more about these events, click here and here, respectively. To see some other recent posts about Elaine Duigenan's work on Morbid Anatomy, click here and here.

Anatomical Venus from the Spitzner Collection, Demountable in 40 Parts, 19th Century, Wax; Montpelier, Museum of the Faculty of Science

Anatomical Venus from the Spitzner Collection, demountable in 40 parts. 19th century, wax; Montpelier, Museum of the Faculty of Science.

Click on image to see larger, more detailed image.

Found here via Elettrogenica.

Tomorrow Night at Observatory : "Exquisite Bodies: or the Curious and Grotesque History of the Anatomical Model" with the Wellcome's Kate Forde

Tomorrow night at Observatory, join Kate Forde--curator at the amazing Wellcome Collection in London--to learn about the rise and fall of the popular anatomical museum in 19th century Europe as detailed in The Wellcome’s recent ‘Exquisite Bodies’ exhibition. Long-time readers might recall this blog's extensive coverage of the exhibit, for which I served as curatorial adviser and designer. Images above all depict artifacts included in the exhibition.

You can find out more about the show here, here and here and see a preview of the lecture here.

Full details below; this is going to be a truly stellar event; hope to see you there!

Exquisite Bodies: or the Curious and Grotesque History of the Anatomical Model
An illustrated lecture by Wellcome Collection Curator Kate Forde
Date: Thursday, August 26
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Tonight, Kate Forde of London’s Wellcome Collection will deliver an illustrated lecture detailing the rise and fall of the popular anatomical museum in 19th century Europe as detailed in The Wellcome’s recent ‘Exquisite Bodies’ exhibition.

The ‘Exquisite Bodies’ exhibition, which was curated with the assistance of Morbid Anatomy’s Joanna Ebenstein, was inspired by the craze for anatomy museums and their artifacts–particularly wax anatomical models–in 19th century Europe. In London, Paris, Brussels and Barcelona displays of wax models became popular with visitors seeking an unusual afternoon’s entertainment. The public were invited to learn about the body’s internal structure, its reproductive system and its vulnerability to disease–especially the sexually transmitted kind–through displays that combined serious science with more than a touch of prurience and horror.

At a time when scandal surrounded the practice of dissection, the medical establishment gave these collections of human surrogates a cautious welcome; yet only a few decades later they fell into disrepute, some even facing prosecution for obscenity. This talk will trace the trajectory of these museums in a highly illustrated lecture featuring many of the historical artifacts featured in the show.

To find out more about the exhibition ‘Exquisite Bodies,’ click here and here.

Kate Forde is Curator of Temporary Exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection, London. She is interested in the role of museums in the shaping of cultural memory and in the display of fine art within science-based institutions. Her current research is taking her from the great dust-heaps of Victorian London to Staten Island’s landfill Fresh Kills for an exhibition with the working title ‘Dirt’. You can see a preview of tonight's lecture by clicking here.

You can find out more about this presentation here; As mentioned above, you can find out more about the exhibition here, here and here and see a preview of the lecture here. You can get directions to Observatory--which is next door to the Morbid Anatomy Library (more on that here)--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.