The Mind Creative
Ruysch’s main trick was heating white wax, and injecting it into
blood vessels in liquid form. Once it cooled and set he would have
a dissectable preparation. By staining the wax red he managed to
give bodies and organs a lifelike tint. The result was amazing. He
used his preparations in teaching surgeons and midwives, but
there was so much interest in them that he set up an exhibition.
It was the first time that people could properly see human internal
organs. The exhibition soon became a major attraction.
The museum was more than simply a collection of anatomical
evidence. Those who entered were immediately confronted with
a tomb containing various skeletons and skeletal remains. Among
them was the skull of a newborn baby placed in a box, next to a
sign with the motto: ‘no head, however strong, escapes cruel
death’. The tomb also contained the skeleton of a boy of three,
holding the skeleton of a parrot, which had been placed there as
an allusion to the saying ‘time flies’.
Although the admonitory
captions were very much in
the established tradition of
anatomical presentation, the
museum was quite unique in
that Ruysch had made an
effort to give it an attractive
design. Amidst the little
skeletons in the tomb, for
instance, was the embalmed
body of a foetus of seven
months. It’s quite natural
colour already made the
sight a little less unpleasant,
but Ruysch had beautified
the child in other ways as
well, by putting a bouquet in
its hand and crown of flowers on its head. The flowers, too, had
been preserved so that they would keep their petals and their
bright colour.
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