The “Student’s Dream” from the 19th century - depicting a medical student being dissected by his own cadavers. An example of the post-mortem photography of the era, which became very popular.
The Anatomical Machines, Giuseppe Salerno, c. 1756-64
In
the Underground Chamber of the Sansevero Chapel, housed in two glass
cases, are the famous Anatomical Machines, or Anatomical Studies, i.e.
the skeletons of a man and a woman in upright position with their
arteriovenous system almost perfectly intact. The circulatory system depicted on the anatomical machines was artificially fabricated with waxes, an iron wire and silk fibers, probably following techniques commonly used by anatomists of that time
These disquieting objects were kept in a room in the palace of the
Prince of Sansevero called “the Apartment of the Phoenix”, as a number
of travellers and the Breve nota di quel che si vede in casa del
principe di Sansevero, an anonymous eighteenth-century guide to the
Palace and the Sansevero Chapel, attest. This source describes the
Machines in
detail, from the blood vessels of the head to those of the tongue and
adds that at the feet of the woman was placed “the tiny body of a
foetus”, alongside which there was even the open placenta,
connected to the foetus by the umbilical cord. The two anatomical
studies were moved to the Chapel, and in this way saved from destruction
or loss, long after the death of the Prince. The remains of the foetus
were still visible up to a few decades ago, when they were stolen.
La Specola is the largest and most famous wax anatomical collection anywhere in the world. It is part of the Museum of Natural History in Florence (it’s the oldest public museum in Europe) and also houses some wonderful taxidermy.
The Museum is currently closed for refurbishment but will open again sometime in late 2020 or early 2021.
