‘Homme à la mandibule’ – a flayed, grimacing corpse sculpture based on the biblical story of Samson slaying the Philistines – is displayed in Musée Fragonard in Paris, France.
Honoré Fragonard (1732–1799) was an anatomist and professor at the first veterinary school in Lyon, appointed personally by Louis XV.
He was also a macabre artist.
Centuries before German anatomist, Gunther von Hagens, displayed his plastinated corpses, Fragonard skinned hundreds of human and animal cadavers to expose their musculature and bone structure.
His primary aim was to create educational models, which could be used to teach his students about anatomy.
But his work was also darkly beautiful, and Fragonard’s key works are displayed in this oddball museum.
Anyone who’s bored Paris’ traditional tourist sights should seek out the Musée Fragonard – ‘Homme à la mandibule’ is only one of several exhibits that will live with you long after you’ve left the museum.