Name of Object:

The Anatomical Waxes of the Istituto delle Scienze

Also known as:

Wax statue representing a naked man (Adam); wax statue representing a naked woman (Eve); wax statue representing a skinned man (“scorticato”); wax statue of a man showing superficial and deep muscles; wax statue of a man showing deep muscles; wax skeleton of a woman showing deep skeleton muscles; wax male skeleton; 52 anatomical waxes

Location:

Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Holding Museum:

Musei di Palazzo Poggi, Anatomical waxes Museum, Institute of normal anatomy, University of Bologna

 About Musei di Palazzo Poggi, Anatomical waxes Museum, Institute of normal anatomy, University of Bologna, Bologna

Original Owner:

Istituto delle Scienze

Current Owner:

University of Bologna

Date of Object:

1742–1751

Artist(s) / Craftsperson(s):

Ercole Lelli (14th September 1702, Bologna -7th March 1766, Bologna)

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Adam, Eve, skinned man, statue with muscles, female skeleton: human bones, wax; male skeleton: human bones, wax, metal; 52 anatomical waxes: wax

Dimensions:

Adam: h cm. 161; Eve: h cm. 147; skinned man: h cm. 163; Statue with deep and superficial muscles: h cm. 158; Statue with deep muscles: h cm. 154; Statue with skeletal muscles: h cm. 164; female skeleton: h cm. 163; male skeleton: h cm. 182

Workshop / Movement:

Bolognese wax school

Provenance:

Museo di “notomia umana” – Istituto delle Scienze

Type of object:

Anatomical waxes

Period of activity:

1727/1766

Place of production:

Bologna

Description:

The eighteenth-century was an especially lucky age for Bolognese wax artists thanks to the renovated intellectual life in town. Originally for the creation of ephemera as well as for long-lasting works. This art was generally employed for scientific purposes, by doctors, as they needed to study the delicate intricacies of the human body. In 1742 Pope Benedict XIV commissioned Ercole Lelli, a professor of the local Academy of Fine Arts, to create a group of anatomical waxes for study purposes for the room of Anatomy in the Istituto delle Scienze. Lelli had to mould eight statues on natural scale including a naked man and woman, and six skinned figures in order to emphasise the different muscular layers. The series is composed of more than 40 anatomical waxes representing muscles and bones. A century later professor Michele Medici wrote that Lelli used two human skeletons for his skinned men, arranged and modelled the different muscles with a mixture of hemp, wax, bran and turpentine then moulded the muscles in the right places, from life. Lelli said that the human body, known through the dissection of corpses, was the main interest of artistic anatomy. Every single detail was carefully studied and analysed; even the statues attitudes, especially in the nudes, were made to emphasise the superficial muscles.

The eight anatomical statues realised by Ercole Lelli, include the 52 anatomical waxes (30 of them are about muscles and 20 about bones). Lelli planned the furnishings of the anatomy room; designing elegant cabinets with glass panes, perfect for housing the anatomical waxes, alternating with showcases where the statues could be easily studied from each point of view.

How date and origin were established:

Documents.

How Object was obtained:

In original place.

Selected bibliography:

I materiali dell'Istituto delle Scienze, Bologna, 1979.
Le cere anatomiche bolognesi del Settecento(exhibition catalogue), Bologna, 1981.
Residori, G. in Rappresentare il corpo. Arte e anatomia da Leonardo all'Illuminismo (exhibition catalogue) (ed. G. Olmi), Bologna, 2004, pp. 316-318.
Falabella, S. “Lelli Ercole”, Dizionario biografico degli italiani, p. 64, Rome, 2005, pp. 333-335.

Citation of this web page:

Ilaria  Negretti "The Anatomical Waxes of the Istituto delle Scienze" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;BAR;it;Mus13;33;en

Prepared by: Ilaria NegrettiIlaria Negretti

SURNAME: Negretti
NAME: Ilaria

AFFILIATION Musei Civici d’Arte Antica, Comune di Bologna

TITLE art historian

CV

Graduated in History of Art at Bologna University, she is specializing in history of medieval and modern art at the same university. Master in Archivistics. She is presently cataloguing for the Musei Civici d’Arte Antica of Bologna.
Translation by: Antonella MampieriAntonella Mampieri

SURNAME: Mampieri
NAME: Antonella

AFFILIATION: Musei Civici d’Arte Antica, Bologna

TITLE: Art Hitorian

CV:
Graduated and specialised at the University of Bologna. She is a specialist in Bolognese late Baroque art, namely sculpture. Among other subjects she has been studying nineteenth-century funerary art in the Bologna monumental cemetery, la Certosa.
Translation copyedited by: Lisa Kelman

MWNF Working Number: IT2 35