Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Three works from Unimore's Anatomical Museum on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ajaccio

Unimore has loaned the Palais Fesch - Museum of Fine Arts in Ajaccio, Corsica, three works from the Anatomical Museum's Obstetrical Collection to be exhibited on the occasion of the exhibition “Bologne au Siècle des Lumières. Art et science, entre réalité et théâtre” dedicated to 18th-century Bologna, which began with the foundation of the Istituto delle Scienze and the Accademia Clementina.

Specifically, these are two life-size sculptures, respectively depicting a primipara woman and a woman with an open abdomen and medially incised uterus, both in an advanced state of pregnancy. The third work is a cross-section of a female pelvis depicting a full-term pregnancy with the foetus in a cephalic position in the last expulsive phase of labour. In them, the graceful theatrical composition of the attitudes and the exceptional figurative realism of the anatomical details find singular harmony.

The works belong to one of the Collections of the Anatomical Museum that was established, starting in the early 19th century, within the block of Sant'Agostino, in contiguity with the 18th-century Teatro Anatomico and the “Grande Spedale”, for the exercise of the medical and surgical professions.

The painted terracotta obstetrical models, made for the University of Modena between 1773 and 1776 by the anatomical sculptor Giovanni Battista Manfredini (1742-1789), were in fact ordered by Francesco Febbrari, an obstetrician doctor from Bologna who graduated from Modena, to facilitate midwifery practice for medical students and midwives. They were kept in the home of the Bolognese anatomist Carlo Mondini (1729-1803), who directed their execution. Only after they had been restored, in 1815, were they purchased and brought to Modena at the suggestion of Midwifery professor Antonio Boccabadati, thanks to the financial support of Franz IV Archduke of Habsburg Este, used for teaching midwifery and years later exhibited in the Museum of Midwifery in 1872.

The Collection currently consists of eight female statues and thirty models of the female pelvis with full-term foetus and is kept in the “Antonio Scarpa” Room in Modena.

“Over the years, interest in the University's cultural heritage, guarded by Unimore Museum System and Botanical Garden, has gradually increased. This loan, granted on the occasion of the prestigious exhibition at the Palais Fesch in Ajaccio, which is devoting a valuable survey of 17th and 18th century Italian art, represents a further significant opportunity to enhance the rich cultural and historical heritage that we preserve and protect” commented the Director of the Museum System and Botanical Garden, Professor Emiro Endrighi.

The exhibition “Bologne au Siècle des Lumières. Art et science, entre réalité et théâtre” is curated by Andrea Bacchi, Angelo Mazza, Daniele Benati and the director of the Palais Fesch, Philippe Costamagna, and will remain open until 30 September.

The 19th-century Palais Fesch in Ajaccio, established at the behest of Cardinal Joseph Fesch, uncle of Napoleon I, houses one of France's great fine arts museums housing a vast collection of works of art, including the largest collection of Italian paintings after that of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Categorie: Notizie_eng