Ceroplastic workshop of the Imperiale e Reale Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale
by Claudia Corti
Recumbent female statues
Second half of the 18th century
Florence, Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Firenze, Museo “La Specola”, anatomical waxes collection
Display case no. 747
Display case no. 745
These two life-size female figures lie supine over a light silk drape and a fine purple mattress, enclosed within two precious rosewood and palisander cases edged in gold. Their facial complexion is rosy and their expressions serene. Their light-brown locks are partially pleated and flow gently down their sides. Their right legs are half drawn up over their left legs, so as to conceal the pudenda. Both give the impression of slumbering peacefully.
And yet their stomachs are open, showing the anatomy of the internal organs. One figure reveals part of the digestive, reproductive and respiratory apparatuses, “i Vasi lattei delle Intestina Crasse, del Ventricolo, del Fegato, dell'Utero e dei Polmoni” (lacteals of the large intestine, of the liver, the uterus and the lungs) [display case no. 747] while the other displays “la distribuzione dei Vasi linfatici della Pelvi, del Fegato, del Ventricolo, dei Bronchi e delle Mammelle” (distribution of the lymphatic veins of the pelvis, the liver, the ventricle, the bronchi, the breasts) [display case no. 745].
Display case no. 445
“Statua giacente veduta posteriormente, che dimostra la massima parte delle Arterie derivate dall'Aorta” (Recumbent statue seen from behind, showing most of the arteries issuing from the aorta).
A third recumbent statue instead illustrates “la massima parte delle Arterie derivate dall’Aorta” and how these blood vessels interact with the musculature. Explaining in detail what is visible in the model, the four accompanying illustrations show the “Veduta posteriore del Sistema Arterioso. Con le Spiegazioni dei Muscoli" (Rear view of the arterial system. With explanations of the muscles), the “Spiegazione delle Arterie del lato destro del Dorso del Braccio sinistro, delle Mani, e delle Gambe” (Explanation of the right-hand arteries of the rear left arm, of the hands and the legs), the “Spiegazione delle Arterie della Cervice, del lato sinistro del Dorso, del fianco destro, e delle Gambe. Veduta posteriore e laterale sinistra" (Explanation of the arteries of the cervix, of the left part of the back, of the right-hand flank and of the legs. Rear and left-hand lateral view), the “Veduta posteriore e destra del sistema Arterioso” (Rear and right-hand view of the arterial system), the “Veduta posteriore e destra del sistema Arterioso. Spiegazione dell'Arteria del Braccio, e gamba destra, del Lato destro del Dorso e Gamba sinistra” (Rear and right-hand view of the arterial system. Explanation of the artery of the arm and right-hand leg, of the left of the back and the left leg).
Beauty and scientific rigour combine, with the utmost refinery and precision of detail, to reveal the harmonious features of these ‘living’ bodies from the “La Specola” museum in Florence. They form part of the three-dimensional human anatomy treatise produced between the 18th and 19th centuries by the ceroplastics workshop of the museum, which was originally named “Imperiale e Reale Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale”. By order of Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Lorraine (1749-1792), an enlightened sovereign who was deeply interested in the sciences, the museum housed the natural history collection of the Medici family. Along with their art collections, they had remained in Florence in accordance with the directives contained in the Will of the Electress of the Palatinate Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici (1667-1743). The Grand Duke also donated to the museum its scientific instrumentation and the volumes belonging to the Accademia del Cimento.
The eclectic scientist and anatomist Felice Fontana was the driving force behind the formation, for the museum, of a collection of life-size human anatomical wax models faithfully reproducing the human body in its entirety. This “live” encyclopaedia was intended to enable “anyone” to learn and study anatomy, its fruition therefore open to specialists in the field, medicine students and a broader, non-specialised public. The models were meticulously copied from real corpses – both whole or in sections – which were dissected by esteemed anatomists and rendered by artists whose skills were beyond reproach. The first ceroplastic artist to work alongside Felice Fontana – the first director of “La Specola” and the person responsible for forming the collection – was Giuseppe Ferrini. Prior to the opening of the museum to the public in 1775, Ferrini was assisted by a second modeler, Clemente Susini, whose talent in this genre remains unequalled and who was responsible for most of the life-size statues. These strikingly moving works were accompanied by drawings, with explanations placed in metal drawers under each display case. The texts were written by expert calligraphists, while the original drawings contained in frames which matched the display cases were made by well-known sketchers. Each drawing contains a numerical reference which corresponds to the explanatory texts, facilitating the learning process of anatomy even for the self-taught.
Bibliography of consulted works: AAVV, 1988, 112 pp. Azzaroli M.L., 1975, 31 pp.; Contardi S., 2002, 328 pp.; Corti and Barbagli, 2017, 38-40; Giansiracusa P. (ed.), 1991, 104 pp.; Lanza et al., 1997, pp. 257; Poggesi, 2009, p. 78-105.
AAVV (1988). AA.VV. Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, edited by Paolo Giansiracusa, conference proceedings 9-11 December 1988, Syracuse, Fabbri ed., Milan.
Azzaroli M.L. (1975). La Specola. Il museo zoologico dell'Università di Firenze, Florence, ed. Olschki,1975, excerpt from "Atti del I congresso internazionale sulla ceroplastica nella scienza e nell'arte, Florence 3-7 June 1975.
Contardi S. (2002). La casa di Salomone a Firenze: L’Imperiale e Reale Museo di Fisico e Storia Naturale (1755–1801). (Biblioteca di Nuncius, 43.) xix + 322 pp., Leo S. Olschki ed., Florence.
Corti C. & Barbagli F. (2017). Le cere anatomiche del Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze. Nuova Museologia, Rivista semestrale di Museologia, ISSN (print) 1828-1591, ISSN (on line) 1828-158337: 38-40.
Giansiracusa P. (edited by) (1991). Vanitas vanitatum: studi sulla ceroplastica by Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, Arnaldo Lombardi, Syracuse.
Lanza B., Azzaroli M.L., Poggesi M., Martelli A. (1979). Le cere anatomiche della Specola. Arnaud Editore, Florence, 257 pp.
Poggesi M. (2011). La Specola: dall’Imperial Regio Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale alla Sezione di Zoologia del Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Firenze. Museologia Scientifica Memorie, p. 90-98.