Spectacular Bodies
BMJ 2000; 321 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.321.7270.1230 (Published 11 November 2000) Cite this as: BMJ 2000;321:1230
- Simon Grant, art critic for Evening Standard and Independent on Sunday
- London
The Art and Science of the Human Body from Leonardo to Now
Hayward Gallery, London, until 14 January
A crucified figure hangs limp from a simple wooden cross. The flesh looks sinewy and pale. The face is gaunt and lifeless. This is not a painting but an anatomical work of art, made in 1801 by the royal academician Thomas Banks. The artist used the body of a criminal to make a plaster cast. Originally intended as a study to show how muscles sag under gravity, Anatomical Crucifixion has since become an iconic image showing how art and science were once happy bedfellows.
Smuggerlus, cast by W Pink after Agostini Carlini
If you saw this in the hallowed halls of a medical college you might rationally marvel …
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