Anatomy, Embroidery, and the Fabric of Celebrity

Chapter 3 investigates the activities of the artificers Anna Morandi (1714–1774) and Giovanni Manzolini (1701–1755) by tracing the trajectory of their collection of anatomical waxworks. In the mid-1740s, Giovanni Manzolini worked as an assistant to Lelli in the realization of the anatomy room sponsored by Benedict XIV. After the two had a falling out, Manzolini left Lelli’s workshop and started modelling with Anna Morandi, whom he had married in 1740. Anna and Giovanni created their own collection of anatomical waxworks and displayed it within their house. This chapter draws attention to their artisanal home as a venue of making and knowing where family life intersected with anatomical practice. Likewise, it examines the domestic setting as a site where the world of maternity and the largely female domains of sewing and needlework could naturalize women’s presence in the anatomical world and support their fashioning as anatomical celebrities.