Exquisite Bodies

Subtitled 'Or a curious and grotesque history of the anatomical model', this exhibition reveals how, in Victorian Britain and Europe, collections of anatomical models were used to titillate as well as teach the public. During the nineteenth century, museums of anatomical models became popular sightseeing attractions, enabling visitors to learn about the human body through displays that combined serious science with an element of fairground theatricality. The show presents accurate specimens used for teaching, as well as models destined for less salubrious displays to examine Victorian attitudes to sex, disease and death.