La Specola: Anatomies In Wax

"The wax collection, unique in the quantity and beauty of its pieces, was created in order to teach anatomy without having to directly observe a cadaver. [...]The over 1400 models, contained in 562 cases, were made between the end of the 18th and first half of the 19th century by the artisans Clemente Susini, Polychrome plaster cast of Clemente Susini, the most famous Florentine wax modeller Francesco Calenzuoli, Luigi Calamai and Egisto Tortori. Guided by Fontana himself these talented modellers worked under the anatomists Tommaso Bonicoli, Filippo Uccelli and the great Paolo Mascagni who dissected cadavers obtained from the Santa Maria Nuova hospital and exposed the part to be modelled. Then the part was reproduced in clay from which a plaster cast was made. Into this the wax - really a mixture of waxes, resins and dyes of which the exact composition is unknown - was poured. Finally, the model was assembled and refined."

(Saulo Bambi)

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