“Con su piel natural”. La exhibición museológica de cuerpos y restos humanos preservados

Abstract

The exhibition of preserved human bodies and remains was and is still common in some museums, also in Spain. This article reviews the gradual expansion of this exhibitions, from the scarce presence of human remains in the chambers of curiosities and the first natural history museums to the successful consolidation of this kind of exhibits in the anatomical cabinets and museums (both academic and commercial) during the last third of the 18th century and the entire 19th century. Special attention is paid to the activity carried out by Dr. Gonzalez Velasco, both in its own museums and in the Faculty of Medicine of Madrid.