CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 5/19/2016

The Anatomical Venus: Wax, God, Death & the Ecstatic

"Venerina (Little Venus)"—a life-sized dissectible wax model created by the workshop of Clemente Susini at the Museum of Natural History in Florence, Italy, in 1782 for the Museo di Palazzo Poggi, Europe's first public scientific research facility and laboratory, in Bologna—is reproduced from Joanna Ebenstein's fascinating, highly-anticipated study, The Anatomical Venus, published by D.A.P. and releasing today! Read recent reviews in the current issue of VICE, and a recent issue of Publisher's Weekly, where the reviewer concludes, "This book raises intriguing questions about science, religion, philosophy, beauty, sex, desire and art while tracing the influence of these macabre sculptures through the centuries. Ebenstein touches on fetishism, necrophilia, dancing dolls, sex toys, and even 'Resusci Anne,' the doll created in the 1960s to teach CPR. The subject is explored just as astutely visually, with images that evoke a range of emotions, including horror, awe, and, most of all, deep interest."