Anatomical Venus made by the Florentine artist Clemente Susini in 1782, now housed in Bologna’s Palazzo Poggi. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
The “Little Venus,” or Venerina, of Palazzo Poggi lies at the very end of a series of galleries displaying the museum’s extensive collection of wax and clay anatomical models. Although she alone can claim a room to herself, the space she occupies is narrow and claustrophobic; entering the chamber feels invasive. Both all-too-visible and completely untouchable in her display-case-cum-casket, the Venus is highlighted among, but also isolated from, the rest of of her kind. She appears as a shared secret between the museum and the visitor, a presentation that makes for a tense, even repellant, viewing experience that builds on the intrinsic tension already existent in the contrast between the hyper-idealized, hyper-realistic woman and the horror of her dismantled body.
Palazzo Poggi’s Venerina. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Palazzo Poggi’s Venerina, presented with pearls and exposed fetus. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Palazzo Poggi’s Venerina with the torso’s outer layers and removable organs displayed around her legs. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
View of Palazzo Poggi’s Venerina in her little chamber. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.