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Korpewelten and Waffles

Brussels Nov 2001

Nickjenkins
2003-11-20 15:49:49

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And these are not waxwork models or plastic dummies, these are the preserved remains of conscientious individuals who have donated their bodies to science. In a transformation known as "platiscization" they are permanently preserved in absolute and precise anatomical detail.

Besides the individual corpses were various displays of individual organs and ailments for the edification of the crowd. There was the cirrhotic liver, the brain haemorrhages and the smoker's lungs. There was the vascular system, the heart, the brain, the kidneys, the stomach and the human skin. There was a cadaver riding a horse, a pregnant woman and a man holding his own skin aloft.

Almost all of the displays were, by public standards, obscene but they were fascinating none-the-less. I learnt more about anatomy in the first fifteen minutes than I ever had in ten years of higher education. I now know precisely where my liver is and what should happen to it if I don't take care of it.

Those of you who have read my Paris travelogue might recognise the similarities between Prof. Gunther von Hagen's "Koerpewelten" and the Fragonard Museum. The coincidence was not accidental and some of the exhibits were direct copies of Fragonard's original work. One wonders how Fragonard himself would have reacted to the macabre recreation of his work, with fascination no-doubt.

The rest of the afternoon was spent trawling through the Musee Horta on the other side of town. Victor Horta was born in Ghent, Belgium in 1861 and was a leading art noveau architect. His house in Brussels is preserved as a museum dedicated to his work and while stained glass and wrought iron aren't usually to my taste I did find the house appealing. Unlike most preserved residences the Musee Horta has an amiable personality that makes it feel like a home and not a museum.

This left us with just enough time to lounge around in a café with coffee and waffles before the train ride home.

19 Nov 2001 15:54:51

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