Have we got something for the world of wonders and the cabinets of curiosities! Standing at approximately six feet tall, this life-sized anatomical model of a horse by Dr. Louis Auzuox is a marvel in papier-mâché.
Auzoux was the most celebrated anatomical model maker of the nineteenth century. While studying medicine, he became interested in models as a readily accessible and economical way to observe anatomy. By 1822 he had perfected a paper paste that was flexible enough to mold into shape but which hardened into a solid, light, unbreakable material. The papier mâché allowed a high degree of detail and careful labeling, and had the advantage, unlike wax models, of being able to be taken apart and reassembled.
Auzoux’s most frequent subject was the human body, but more unusual are Auzoux’s models of animals. Several texts refer to ‘a six-foot horse’, and Auzoux is known to have exhibited a model of a horse in the Académie de Médicine, Paris in 1844. Veterinary schools used Auzoux's models in their lecture, as seen in the photo below, circa 1900. The present piece is one of only three large papier maché horses known to exist.
Auzoux’s models were in great demand throughout the nineteenth century. Expansion of the universities across Europe and America, coupled with laws prohibiting grave-robbing in the US, England and Russia, meant that tutors became increasingly reliant on accurate and durable models. As such, these models provided an invaluable aid to the advancement of medical science, although sadly very few of them are known to have survived.
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