A Woman to Know: Anna Morandi Manzolini
Only a smattering of biographical sketches had acknowledged her contributions to eighteenth-century science and art. — Rebecca Messbarger
(image via Wikimedia Commons)
I learned about Anna Morandi Manzolini via a delightful email from Enrico, a subscriber to this newsletter:
While visiting the Palazzo Poggi Museum in my hometown of Bologna, Italy, I've stumbled on the work of a woman's that definitely worthy of being known. Her name was Anna Morandi Manzolini -- she was an eighteenth-century Bolognese anatomist who made ridiculously lifelike anatomical models out of wax. She was so good at it that she actually discovered previously unknown body parts, was the first to reproduced particularly tiny ones, and her models were sought by prestigious institutions long after her death. They have some incredible stuff at the Palazzo Poggi, including a massive ear.
A massive ear, y'all. A. Massive. Ear.
Add to your library list:
The Lady Anatomist: The Life and Work of Anna Morandi Manzolini (Rebecca Messbarger)
Diseases in Wax: The History of Medical Moulage (Thomas Schnalke)
Read more:
Anna Manzolini: A Self-Portrait with Brains (The Mary Sue)
18th Century Wax Sculptures by Anna Manzolini (Michelle Legro)
An extraordinary collection of 18th century waxworks (Atlas Obscura)
Anna Morandi Manzolini: mother, artist, anatomist (Italian Ways)
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