Death's Heads and Tomb Markers of Amsterdam and Leiden

While in the Netherlands last week for the Amsterdam Anatomy Weekend at the Museum Vrolik, I had the time to take in a three wonderful churches: de Nieuwe Kerk ("new church") and de Oude Kerk ("old church") in Amsterdam and, in Leiden, Pieterskerk (or "Pilgrim Fathers' Church"), thanks very much to Bart Grob and his magnificent Museum Boerhaave bicycle.

All of the churches were, on their own, wonderfully captivating spaces, lofty and sober and aglow with that very special Dutch light; they were also, to my delight, filled with dozens of fascinating tomb markers, many of them engraved with fanciful death's heads and other enigmatic images. You can see a few of my favorite examples above, and can view a more complete photoset by clicking here.

Corpses of Siamese twins, Everard Crijnsz. van der Maes, 1630, The Hague Historical Museum

Corpses of Siamese twins, Everard Crijnsz. van der Maes, 1630, The Hague Historical Museum. This image was kindly sent in by Morbid Anatomy reader Pipi Lotta in the Netherlands, who explains:

This painting was painted by order of the Court of Holland and donated to the Theatrum Anatomicum. In 1628 the States of Holland had payed Gerrit Claesse from Woerden 50 guilders for the bodies of his Siamese daughters. The Government wanted to do autopsy in the examination hall of the Theatrum Anatomicum and do so research on conjoined twins.

Apparently it was such a special event that the painter Van der Maes was commissioned to make a painting of it. He got paid for 36 guilders.

To read about this painting in the original dutch, click here. To find out more about the exhibition in which it was shown, click here.

The Modern Anatomical Venus at Leiden's Museum Boerhaave: Guest Post by Bart Grob, The Boerhaave Museum

Just a few weeks ago, the new exhibition Amazing Models, on the Emotional, Medical and Cultural History of Anatomical Models opened at Leiden's Boerhaave Museum. To commemorate the opening of this incredible looking exhibition, here is a guest post by Bart Grob, conservator and curator at that museum, about the publicity image commissioned by the exhibition seen above (top image):

Is it fashion, is it a glamor, or is it anatomy?

In fact it's all three. This modern day anatomical Venus (top image), in style of the famous anatomical models from the Viennese Josephinum museum (bottom image) is portrait of Dutch actress Georgina Verbaan.

She was photographed by Koen Hauser who has a large interest in anatomy, and is well known for this anatomy series. He combined an image of an original wax model from the Museum Boerhave collections with a glamorous photo of the model, thus reconstructing an image of the time when female anatomical models where not only about the anatomy of the body. Skilled hands of Florentine waxmodellers delivered beautiful, sensual and elegant models of the female body.

Yesterday, the 20th of November, Amazing Models, a new exhibit on the emotional, medical and cultural history of anatomical models, opened to the public at the Museum Boerhaave. To address all these different themes this reconstruction of the anatomical Venus was chosen as image for the publicity campaign. The heyday of spectacular anatomy seem to be back again!

You can find out more about this exhibition, on view until June of 2014, by clicking here. And stay tuned for news of a Morbid Anatomy Museum pop-up event series taking place in partnership with the Boerhaave Museum, the Vrolik Museum and more Netherlands-based institutions, coming soon!

Top image: Fotocredits: Koen Hauser, photography Hair and Make up, Luise van Huisstede, Model Georgina Verbaan

Bottom image: "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, from The Secret Museum, by Joanna Ebenstein

Helmie van de Riet (Born 1961)

Find out more about anatomical-inspired artist Helmie van de Riet's work (if you speak Dutch, that is) here. (And hey--if you are able to figure anything out, please let Morbid Anatomy know. We are dying to know more!)