Hygiene The story of a museum - Marres

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Museum as Discourse Spalteholz From 1925 onwards, visitors of the Hygiene- Museum could marvel at a group of objects called ‘transparent man’, which consisted of X-ray images and so-called Spalteholz-specimens. These transparent anatomical specimens were made by physician and anatomist Werner Spalteholz (1861–1940) from Leipzig, who developed a method to make body parts transparent between 1906 and 1910. He discovered that tissue, when treated with certain liquids for a long time — sometimes up to two years! — became transparent and he compared his discovery with that of the X-ray. From 1909 onwards, Spalteholz received financial support from the founder of the Hygiene Museum, the industrial Karl August Lingner from Dresden. In Spalteholz’s laboratory in Leipzig, anatomical specimens were produced for the Hygiene Exhibition of 1911. The anatomical laboratory of the subsequently established Hygiene-Museum advised and supported Spalteholz with the production of the specimens using his method. Spalteholz-specimens were produced until 1971. Page 10 of 41 13 Foetal arm skeleton, 4th–6th month Spalteholz-specimen 1946–1971 glass, natural specimen, wintergreen oil The foetal arm skeleton with scapula and clavicle is fixed in inclined position on the preparation glass. The ossification centres are painted and the bone tissue is clearly visible. 14 Lung, vertical cross section Spalteholz-specimen 1946–1971 glass, natural specimen, wintergreen oil The lung section is attached to a glass pane with threads. The arteries are injected with red, the veins with blue and the bronchi with yellow. 15 Intestinal loop Spalteholz-specimen 1950–1971 glass, natural specimen, wintergreen oil The circular section of the small intestine with mesentery is attached to the preparation glass by three plastic threads. The blood vessels with their arcade-like structure are clearly visible, the veins are injected with red. 16 Kidney Spalteholz-specimen 1946–1971 glass, natural specimen, wintergreen oil The liquid preparation of a human kidney. 17 Skin section Spalteholz-specimen 1946–1971 glass, natural specimen, wintergreen oil The arteries in the presented skin section are injected with red.
Museum as Discourse Glass Man On the occasion of the Second International Hygiene Exhibition in 1930, a life-size sculpture of a transparent man was unveiled in the newly built Hygiene-Museum in Dresden. This glass man was not created by a sculptor, but by a taxidermist working at the museum. The public enthusiastically welcomed the model, which attracted great interest at the 1933 Chicago World Exhibition, the 1937/38 Paris World Exhibition and in several Asian countries, including China and India during the 1950s. By 1945, a further nine replicas had been made. The Glass Man (there was also a Glass Woman) was always placed in a quasi-religious setting in order to show the public the wonder of life. With his glass surface, he appeared a thing of celestial beauty, not repulsive or unpleasant like some of the moulages that were used to demonstrate the consequences of various diseases. His raised arms indicate a will to live. The reform movements of the early 20th century poked fun at his prayer-like stance, comparing it to ‘light prayer’, breathing exercises and ‘artistic’ nude photographs. The Glass Man was displayed with explanatory texts, which were played on records. These texts introduced the public to the central concept of rational hygiene that was encouraged in the 1920s and 1930s — that the human being was a wonderful machine, familiar yet mysterious, incomplete yet amazingly capable. In the glow of his vitality, he stood before his audience and created the sense of admiration heard in the euphoric slogan of the time: “You can and should be as healthy as the man standing before you. It is only a matter of taking all the necessary hygienic precautions.” The Glass Man is part of the history of medical illustration and the history of art. He simultaneously stands for medical knowledge and the stylistic characteristics of modern art. He therefore represents the spirit of his times, which sought a modern, technical or technocratic way of life based on increasing transparency. Page 11 of 41 18 Glass Man Anatomical model plastic, cellulose acetate (‘Cellon’) or acrylic, lead, copper wire, aluminium, electronics
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Hygiene The story of a museum - Marres

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