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Civitas baner

No. 34-35 (2024): Pamięć i pragnienie

Temat numeru

The Immodest Allure of Anatomy: An Essay on the History of Wax Models

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35757/CIV.2024.34-35.03
Submitted: August 15, 2025
Published: December 12, 2025

Abstract

This article looks at the history of anatomical wax models created in the 18th and 19th centuries. These objects occupied a peculiar place at the intersection of art and medicine, which had important implications for the way they were perceived by medical practitioners, but also by the public. The dual status of anatomical models as both didactic tools and artistic works was reflected in the way they were treated: they aroused admiration, but at the same time were considered obscene.
The history of the origins and transformations of modelling art, reconstructed in this article, allows us to grasp the enigmatic status of anatomical models and to bring out the philosophical and aesthetic aspects of modelling art.

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