Joanna Ebenstein

I found the book fascinating on a number of level - the mingling of art, science, religion, culture, human nature. . . Well, we have always been complex creatures, have we not? The many photographs were also quite interesting . . . though to be sure some of them were also disquieting.

I also found myself rather put off by the attitude not of the historical personages spoken of, nor the concept of the Anatomical Venus and her sisters, but by the author herself. Presenting, for example, that there is no way a modern person can truly understand the Anatomical Venus, because she hails from "a time when religion, art, science, and philosophy could exist peacefully together", and we have lost this. Also the presenting of a number of stories about men who preserved their wives (or even more creepily, exes) in effigy form or worse, their actual bodies, kept on display or in their beds or both . . . along the same lines as the models (or real human remains, or mingling of both) used for both science and art displays, for sideshows and similar.… (más)

In the 18th century, Florence, Italy, had a strong Catholic faith and a long tradition of making realistic wax anatomical models for sacred votive offerings commissioned by pilgrims. The Medici Venus, a seductive wax model of a real woman, was born. Not only does this book look at the temporal context of the anatomical Venus and examine the beliefs and medical practices that led to her creation, but it also sheds light on the popular perception of it, allowing one to reflect on how the original mystical experience has been enhanced (and why the modern eye sees it as a mystery to be captivated, rather than just a dead object of educational value). It was a wonderful experience to think about the experience of looking at the specimen in the laboratory two months ago.… (más)

Anatomica: The Exquisite and Unsettling Art of Human Anatomy by Joanna Ebenstein is a richly illustrated and very informative look at the ways the human body has been presented for both education and art.

I read this shortly after reading Flesh and Bones from Getty Publications and together these books offered a well-rounded look at the art of the human body through the ages. The strengths of Ebenstein's volume is that it is more of a single work while the other uses essays to highlight aspects of the exhibition it is for.

I was impressed with the captions in this book, they were both quite informative while also being almost conversational in tone. There was a humanity and sense of compassion in the writing that made the images seem personal rather than clinical or even simply artistic.

I would recommend this to those who want both a beautifully illustrated book and one that also shares information.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.… (más)