Cere anatomiche
March 24–July 17, 2023
Fondazione Prada presents “Cere anatomiche: La Specola di Firenze | David Cronenberg” at its Milan venue from March 24 to July 17, 2023 (Press preview on Thursday, March 23). The project is conceived in collaboration with La Specola, which is part of the Museum of Natural History and Museum System of the University of Florence, and the Canadian film director and screenwriter David Cronenberg.
La Specola, currently closed to the public for redevelopment works of its historic venue, was created in 1775 and is one of the oldest science museums in Europe. It contains over 3.5 million animals, the world’s most extensive collection of eighteenth-century anatomical waxes and the unique collection of Sicilian wax modeller Gaetano Giulio Zumbo (1656-1701). 1.400 pieces of the extraordinary collection of anatomical waxworks were made between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century to obtain an actual educational-scientific treatise that, without the need to resort to the direct observation of a corpse, would illustrate the anatomy of the human body.
“Cere anatomiche” (Anatomical waxes) develops in two distinct parts. An exhibition features a selection of thirteen eighteenth-century ceroplastic works from the renowned collection of the Florentine museum, focusing on the way women’s body has been represented for scientific purposes, and seventy-two exhibition copies of anatomical drawings gathered in nine vitrines. It specifically features four reclining female figures including one of the most relevant works of La Specola’s collection, the so-called Venus, a rare model with detachable parts famous for its beauty.
A new short movie, shot by David Cronenberg at La Specola, introduces these works into an alternative narrative, exploring recurrent themes such as the fascination for the human body and its potential mutations and contaminations. His film reveals the vivid and unexpected dimension of the ceroplastics to generate a plurality of new emotional responses, intellectual impressions, and intense feelings.
The project takes the form of a double contribution in which the scientific narrative and the artistic one are shaped in two independent set-ups designed by creative agency Random Studio. On the upper floor of the Podium La Specola’s waxes will be displayed with a scientific museum-like approach. In contrast, on the ground floor, the same works will merge with the director’s imagery and become the protagonists of an enigmatic process of metamorphosis.
“Cere anatomiche” is the latest iteration of a research project with which Fondazione Prada reveals collections of great value from ‘guest museums’, offering unexpected interpretations and visions of cultural heritage by including a historical collection in a contemporary culture context. As underlined by Miuccia Prada, “The museum and the artist thus propose complementary visions to the public. The result is, at the same time, an art exhibition, an anatomy lesson, a video about desire, and an operation of educational experimentation with which we intend to tell the value of a collection and its history, reveal the contribution of creative thinking in knowledge, and promote interest in scientific studies.”
