The Anatomical Venus: Wax, God, Death the Ecstatic by Joanna Ebenstein

The Anatomical Venus: Wax, God, Death the Ecstatic Reviews

• 
  Ivan Cenzi

  Gorgeous book, thoroughly researched and historically accurate. I especially appreciated the chapter on the success of anatomical waxes at European fairgrounds, a topic which has been rarely addressed before with such insight.
  
  There are some digressions which could honestly appear a bit excessive (what has Carl Tanzler got to do with either the Venus or doll fetish?), but that is forgivable on the whole, because the book is such a beauty and the iconographic apparatus just perfect.
  
  The book reminds the reader of the central place occupied by the body in the Catholic tradition, and draws an interesting and quite appropriate parallel between the Anatomical Venus and the depictions of mystic rapture in sacred art and sculpture.
  And yet Ebenstein - as she also stated in interviews - seems to have come to the conclusion that much of the Venus' sex appeal is really a projection of our modern perspective. The underlying reasoning appears to be that, since allusive artworks are on display in churches throughout Italy, they surely could not have been considered erotic at the time; thus the sexual innuendo does not come from the works themselves, but has to be a product of our own alleged prudery.
  
  Non-Catholics often seem puzzled by erotic art in Italian churches, as proved by the author's attempt to explain/justify the presence of Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. Despite Ebenstein assuming "we" all consider outrageous, or at least unusual, the idea that bodily ecstasy and spiritual rapture might not be entirely separated, in fact religion still has a strong sensual overtone in Italy.
  St. Theresa, like any other martyr/saint in ecstatic orgasm (= impetuous, violent inner agitation), is not considered shocking but rather appropriate in this context - especially as eroticism always played a part in religious experience and allure, albeit sublimated. Since the early Middle Ages, Catholics tended not to differentiate soul from body neither in theology (heavily influenced by hylomorphism) nor in popular expressions of faith. Furthermore, appraising to what extent paganism is still present within Catholic feelings might be an arduous task.
  Anatomy, on the other hand, was mostly considered both a scientific and spiritual enquiry, the human body being the highest of God's creations (shaped in His own image). Therefore, in my opinion, the ecstasy of ceroplastic Venuses can be seen as a quite natural and not-so-scandalous declination, without necessarily resorting to a supposed bias on the part of modern viewers.
  
  In conclusion, if I had to point out a minor flaw, I would say the book would have benefited from a larger in-depth analysis of the role and philosophical implications of eroticism (Bataille is duly but only incidentally quoted), and this is a slight disappointment in an essay setting out to explain the waxes' disturbing charm.
  
  Yet the very fact I found myself questioning some of the author's views is definitive proof of a fruitful, productive read. And 'The Anatomical Venus' truly does a remarkable job in bringing these marvellous waxworks - fascinating intersections of art, science and religion - into the spotlight.
• 
  Geertje

  I had never heard of anatomical venuses (also called 'dissected graces' or 'slashed beauties') until two weeks or so ago, when I encountered them in a short story by Kirsty Logan. I decided to google them, and was immediately both horrified and intrigued. Thanks to my darling gf, I got to read this book and now know all about them.
  
  Anatomical venuses are wax dolls, life-sized, and completely anatomically correct. They were made during the second half of the eighteenth century and continued to be made until the first half of the twentieth century. Italy was famous for them (the most famous anatomical Venus hails from Florence), but nowadays they can be found in other countries, too, including France, Austria, Germany, England, and the USA. Most of them can be dissected, though some of them are in a permanent state of dissection. They were made with the idea that they would make the dissection of human corpses (which was smelly, a health-hazard, and ethically unsound) obsolete as well as encourage young men to take up the study of anatomy. Sadly, because these dolls were costly and time-consuming to produce, and because wax cannot be handled all the time without damage, human corposes continued to be used.
  
  All very admirable, so why, then, are these figures so creepy? Well, it doesn't help that they are all figures of beautiful women who look like they are experiencing ecstacy or perhaps orgasm. They have real human hair (including pubes and eyelashes), and so they invite a sense of horror in us because there's something so very sexual about them. Also, they fall squarely in the uncanny valley.
  
  In this book, Joanna Ebenstein explores why anatomical venuses were made and how the views changed throughout time and why. Why do they inspire such strong feelings in us? Why did people at the time they were made feel something different? Ebenstein also places them in a larger historical context (hyperrealistic wax figures were, apparently, nothing new in the 18th century), and is not afraid to explore connotations of fetishism that always seem to accompany lifelike female dolls.
  
  I also have to say this book is very beautiful in the way it is made. It is a hardcover which is partly clothbound, with thick, creamy paper, marbled paper at beginning and end (where do you get to see that nowadays?), and high-quality coloured pictures. The only thing that bugged me at times was how the main text would be interrupted by several pages of photographs; I might have preferred them to be at the end of each chapter, though I am not entirely sure.
  
  Also, this book is def NSFW, as most persons will probably have guessed but I foolishly thought would not be so bad. In an act of hybris, I took it with me in the train, and regretted that decision.
• 
  Pandaduh

  The sexual politics of...anatomy. Fascinating stuff but I wish the book had delved into the racism and bias of these works that it didn't even really touch on. Like, in one racist depiction it describes it as a "tableau" but doesn't address that the demonic figure has been replaced by a black person/racist stereotype (see screenshot). Call it out at least. What's more the book doesn't even mention figures like Sarah Baartmaan (called the "Black Venus") whose literal body was on display. A couple of white women whose bodies were preserved like dolls are mentioned though.
• 
  MKF

  The text though interesting and informational is not as fascinating nor as disturbing as the photos inside. Old anatomical prints and illustrations with figures and other items used throughout history. Then you have the photos of the anatomical Venus the almost beautiful wax dolls that could be dissected over and over to teach anatomy without the mess.
• 
  Tony Gualtieri

  This is a beautifully illustrated book that gives a history of female anatomical sculptures. The text raises numerous philosophical issues related to the works, and one only wishes that the author had pursued her meditations in greater depth. As it stands, with its lavish and provocative illustrations, the book becomes a springboard for thought on these objects which exist at an uncanny nexus of art, science, and the erotic.
• 
  Zouabar

  This is the only book I have come across on this subject, it is well researched and well illustrated but it kind of misses the mark when it comes to racist bias (see pandaduh's opinion on this book).
  The text is often interrupted (sometimes mid-sentence) by several iconographic spreads at a time. I found this frustrating at length. Also not necessarily a fan of the opinion-piece style conclusion.
  A good book overall and a precious resource.
• 
  Oliver Brackenbury

  Great introduction to the subject with fantastic photos & illustrations. My only frustration was the layout, which frequently breaks up the main text mid-sentence for two or even four pages of images with details captions to read or full page quotes, so it takes a bit more effort to read linearly.
• 
  Cecilia Z

  Que hermoso libro!. Y los ensayos tienen muy buena documentación histórica.
  Recomiendo en la misma línea: Bourgery: Atlas Of Human Anatomy And Surgery.
• 
  Leslie

  Surprising and gave me precisely the insight I was seeking to finish another project.
  
  Great to read during a pandemic.
• 
  GENESIS

  “For men to be instructed, they must be seduced by aesthetics, but how can anyone render the image of death agreeable?”
  
  The passionate uncanny.
• 
  slauderdale

  Less reviewed than it is discussed in my blog post, "Adventures in Morbid Non-fiction":
  https://librarianslauderdale.wordpres...
  
  Beyond the interest posed by the immediate subject ... it puts these strange objects in the context of a longer tradition of wax modeling and effigies, which has ultimately become more interesting to me than the narrower category of anatomical Venuses. ...
• 
  Elizabeth Hopkinson

  I bought this book because the subject matter fascinates me as a writer. Grimms' "The Glass Coffin" is one of my favourite fairy tales, and I see much symbolism in it. I am also very interested in the 18th century.
  The book is extremely fascinating, although I must warn you that it can also be quite disturbing. I particularly found this to be the case with the second half, which dealt much more with sexual themes. Personally, I see asexual themes in the idea of the sleeping beauty/glass coffin, particularly themes of inviolate chastity, so I was a little disappointed that those issues were not touched upon. On the other hand, I was intrigued by the stories of many of the wax sculptors and anatomists involved, several of whom were female.
• 
  Wendy

  For fascinating subject matter and aesthetic presentation alone, this book is a huge winner - I digested it in a couple glorious hours. The text becomes rather repetitive (awkwardly noticeably so, if you're reading it all at once, anyway), but the themes are sufficiently interesting that I'd give the occasional clunkiness a pass. And the photos! So glad to have this one in my life. (especially after just having watched Westworld *and* inadvertently listened to a podcast on doll fetishes. Timely!)
• 
  Paolo Ferrante

  Bellissimo saggio fotografico sulle cere anatomiche. La Ebenstein insieme al suo entourage di esperti coglie appieno tutte le sfumature esistenti attorno al tema della Venere Anatomica, le analizza e ci propone uno spaccato esaustivo e soddisfacente del contesto storico e psicologico in cui le statue sono state create. Manuale di raffinata fattura (fotografie superlative) che non può mancare sulla mensola di ogni appassionato di anatomia artistica che si rispetti.
• 
  Juliana

  Beautifully made book!! I mostly bought this for the pictures but I really liked the topics of the chapters. I especially enjoyed "From Sacred to Scientific Use of Wax" and "Ecstasy, Fetishism, and Doll Worship."
• 
  Melissa

  Fantastically creepy and fascinating.
• 
  Roberta

  Un libro bellissimo per curiosi ed intenditori dell'arte nella anatomia. Alla fine ci sono anche elencati i luoghi d'interesse per chi volesse vedere dal vivo queste eccentriche opere d'arte.
• 
  Lynsey Walker

  Spellbindingly beautiful.
  
  My quest is to now go and find one of these Venuses
• 
  Wilhelmina

  3.5