Bill Hsu presents … Medical Wax Models Day

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Before color photography was invented, wax models were used as medical teaching aids, to illustrate anatomical structures, and document visible pathological conditions. Many of the early modelers were anatomists as well as sculptors. Wax lends itself to a variety of techniques for capturing the look of flesh and skin. Georges Didi-Huberman:

[W]ax presents a disturbing multiplicity of physical properties… it is solid, but easily liquefied; impermeable yet readily soluble in water; it can be opaque or transparent, matte or polished, slippery or sticky, brittle or malleable; its consistency can be endlessly modified through the addition of a wide range of resins.

What fascinates me about medical wax models is the amazing level of workmanship and attention to detail of many of the pieces, way beyond what is necessary for mere medical illustration. I always feel that the medical use of a beautiful model is an afterthought, almost an excuse to fund these painstaking and obsessive projects.

(The term moulage, from the French verb mouler, to “mold” or “imprint”, is often used to refer to wax models that are molded from a negative.)

Origins: Giulio Gaetano Zummo

Zummo (or Zumbo, 1656-1701) is usually considered the first major medical wax modeler. My references give slightly different biographical details, but he was from Syracuse (Sicily), and worked mostly in Florence, Naples and Bologna. Many of his wax models are now lost. La Specola, the Museum of Natural History in Florence, has most of his surviving work, including a life-sized model of a head (see above), and several miniature tableaux depicting the plague, syphillis, and stages of decomposition.

There are references to another Zummo head housed in the Museum of Natural History in Paris; I have been to the museum but don’t remember seeing the head. Zummo’s technique was not documented; in fact, many of the great modelers were rather secretive about their methods. Schnalke’s book has a description of the possible procedure. Embedded in the La Specola head is a real skull, whereas the later Paris head is constructed entirely of wax.

Article on Zummo and La Specola (including later wax models)

Bologna and Florentine Schools

In Bologna in the mid 1700s, Ercole Lelli (1702-1766) was commissioned by Pope Benedict XIV to produce a collection of anatomical wax models, including models of organs, and human bodies displaying muscular, circulatory and nervous systems; human skeletons were used as frameworks for the latter. Later Bolognese modelers included Anna Morandi-Manzolini, who built a number of obstetric models.

More on Bolognese waxes

La Specola in Florence now houses probably the largest collection of anatomical wax models in the world. Most of the collection was constructed after the early Bolognese models, between 1770 and 1850. With the support of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, a school of anatomy and wax studio was established; Giuseppe Ferrini, Felice Fontana and Clemente Susini built many of the earlier models. Many of the modelers were influenced by Renaissance art. For example, Paulo Mascagni’s reclining figure illustrating the lymphatic system is modeled after Michelangelo’s Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Schnalke’s book has a detailed section (p. 43-45) on the Florentine technique. Briefly, the dissector first prepares a cadaver or relevant parts so that structures are easily observed. The modeler then molds a plaster negative, either from the “natural pattern” or from a pre-built initial model. Wax is then applied to the plaster molds. A wax model may be assembled from several pieces, with the hollow space inside filled with rags, wood etc. The surface of the model is finished, painted and varnished.

Schnalke reports that copies of the Florentine models can be found in Leiden, Budapest etc. The largest collection of the Florentine models outside Florence is in Vienna at the Josephinum, commissioned by Emperor Joseph II of Austria, “transported on the backs of mules over the Brenner pass,” according to Schnalke. (While the Viennese models are supposedly in better condition than the originals at La Specola, I always thought the lighting conditions in La Specola are more flattering to the models.)

Encyclopedia Anatomica (Taschen) on La Specola wax models

From about 1840-1893, at the hospital Santa Maria Nuova in Florence, Giuseppe Ricci and other modelers produced a collection of moulages documenting primarily skin diseases. These pieces are now on display at the Museo di Anatomia Patologica in Florence. (I have only seen photos of the pieces; my impression is they are not at the level of the work of Towne or Baretta, described later. Schnalke also mentioned that the collection is in poor condition.)

Joseph Towne (London)

In the 19th century, in addition to illustrating anatomical structures, wax models began to be used for documenting visible pathological conditions such as skin diseases and external tumors. The amazing work of Joseph Towne (1806 – 1879) includes skeletons, highly detailed anatomical cross-sections, and incredibly realistic models of dermatological conditions; most of Towne’s surviving work can be seen in the Gordon Museum at Guy’s Hospital, London. Towne was very secretive about his methods, but he did influence a number of North American physicians and mouleurs. There are extensive moulage collections at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia and the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington D.C. Most items in these collections are by Towne or of European origin, though there are some American pieces.

Mouleur Eleanor Cook on style and technique, with footage of Towne’s models

Moulage in France

Lemire’s book describes the beginnings of moulaging in the late 1700s in France, including the work of the surgeon and mouleur Andre-Pierre Pinson. Pinson’s most famous piece is probably Anatomy of a Seated Woman, depicted on the cover of Lemire’s book; photos from the book show a wide range of Pinson’s work, including anatomical cross-sections, models of organs, full-sized figures showing muscular structure, and dermatological conditions. Some of Pinson’s models are on display at the Musee Dupuytren in Paris.

The Saint-Louis Hospital in Paris was decreed in 1801 to be used to treat patients with skin diseases. The Moulage Museum in the hospital houses the largest collection today of moulages of dermatological conditions. Most of the incredible pieces were made by Jules Baretta (1834-1923). Baretta was making a living building papier-mache models of fruit, when he was discovered by the dermatologist Charles Lailler.

Baretta’s models are some of the most impressive that I’ve seen. The skin catches the light in naturalistic ways, the hair is formed in painstakingly life-like patterns, and the lesions and tumors just seem to push out of the surface of the models. A small selection of photos can be found here. More photos.

Other collections

Schnalke’s book describes several moulage collections in Germany, including activities in Freiburg, Dresden and Berlin. Schnalke is the director of the museum at the Charité hospital, where some pieces are on display. The Deutsches Hygiene-Museum has most of the surviving work from Dresden, but I was told only a small selection is available for viewing.

Several mouleurs were active in Vienna in the 19th century, including Johann Nepomuk Hoffmayr who documented eye diseases, Anton Elfinger, and later, Carl Henning. Some of these models are on display in the Josephinum and the museum in the Narrenturm in Vienna.

The Ziegler studio in Freiburg produced large collections of wax models of embryos, illustrating anatomical structures and different stages of development. The Zieglers were active from the late 1800s to the start of World War II.

Footnote: Getting into museums

Some of the collections I mentioned are not officially open to the public. Accessibility is much better today than it was 10 years ago, when I first became interested in medical museums. (I have stories involving a lot of unreturned phone calls, and general begging and groveling.) Most of the museums are not well-supported, with minimal staff; they cannot handle large numbers of visitors. Museum staff are usually helpful if you have some medical or artistic connection, and make it clear that you have a lot of respect for the work, are not about to take pictures/video and distribute them without permission, etc.

References

Thomas Schnalke’s Diseases in Wax, the reference on medical moulage
Michel Lemire’s Artistes et Mortels, excellent reference on French work
On La Specola, Florence:
La Specola wikipedia entry
Curious Expedition’s gorgeous flickr set
Encyclopedia Anatomica
Gerard Tilles and Daniel Wallach’s Les musees de medecine (Editions Privat, 1999)
Gerard Tilles and Daniel Wallach’s book on wax models of skin diseases in the St. Louis Hospital
Book on (mostly) skin disease models in the Institute of Anatomy-Pathology, Florence
Gretchen Worden’s Mutter Museum, including a number of photographs of wax models in the collection
Nick Hopwood’s Embryos in Wax, on the Zieglers’ work
Catalog of Spectacular Bodies exhibit, with some materials on medical waxworks
Wellcome Museum Exquisite Bodies exhibit
Order moulage supplies

Tangents:

I thought about including references to Honoré Fragonard’s écorchés, Paul Thek’s meat pieces, Ron Mueck’s incredible human figures, John Isaacs’ anatomical distortions etc, but this post is already too long. Maybe another day…
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p.s. Hey. Some while ago in a different location, artist/composer/d.l. Bill Hsu put together this array of unsavory and gorgeous things for the blog and for you. I hope you take pleasure in it afresh.