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Wax Anatomical Model with Pretty Face

A work made of gelatin silver print.

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  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1990

Artist:

Zoe Leonard
American, born 1961

About this artwork

Often distinguished by a low-tech, documentary approach, Zoe Leonard’s photographs reveal what is generally forbidden or forgotten. Early in her career, she examined historical images of women. Wax Anatomical Model with Pretty Face—a photograph of a realistic wax female figure (with pubic hair, makeup, and a pearl necklace) whose internal organs are exposed for medical examination—poetically balances visceral fascination with feminist critique. Discovered by the artist at the Museum of Comparative Anatomy in Paris, the figure is clinical in its anatomical precision, but also perversely seductive; Leonard’s depiction juxtaposes desire and horror.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Zoe Leonard

Title

Wax Anatomical Model with Pretty Face

Place

United States (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1990

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Edition

6 of 6

Dimensions

71.1 × 104.1 cm (28 × 41 in.)

Credit Line

Claire and Gordon Prussian Fund for Contemporary Art

Reference Number

2006.174

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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