Anna Morandi: 18th C Anatomist and Sculptor

I just came across these absolutely amazing wax sculptures made by anatomist Anna Morandi.

Here’s her self-portrait (with dissected head, of course.)

Fascinatingly…

“Medical Venuses” were a popular attraction among the anatomical wax models of the day, life-size figures of reclining, naked women, sometimes wearing pearls, whose stomachs were flayed to reveal the female reproductive system. Instead, Morandi tore away the fig leaf of the opposite sex, mastering the anatomy of the male reproductive system.

I am so ordering the book.