Today’s Theatrical Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Medical voyeurism arose in the dimly lit anatomical amphitheaters of the Renaissance, where, in front of transfixed spectators, the bodies of executed criminals were dissected as an additional punishment for their crimes. Ticketed spectators watched anatomists slice into the distended bellies of decomposing corpses, parts gushing forth not only human blood but also fetid pus. The lilting but incongruous notes of a flute sometimes accompanied the macabre demonstration. Public dissections were theatrical performances, a form of entertainment as popular as cockfighting or bearbaiting. Not everyone had the stomach for it though. The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said of the experience, “What a terrible sight an anatomy theatre is! Stinking corpses, livid running flesh, blood, repellent intestines, horrible skeletons, pestilential vapors! Believe me, this is not the place where [I] will go looking for amusement.”
An Anatomy Theater
Culled from: The Butchering Art
Post-Mortem Photo Du Jour!
Young Parents
Circa 1900 – gelatin silver print – 7″ x 5″
Devastated young parents pose on the family porch with their deceased infant, whose small casket is supported on top of two chairs.
Culled from: Beyond the Dark Veil: Post Mortem & Mourning Photography