Anatomical machines Anatomical machines The anatomical machines (Italian: "macchine anatomiche") are a couple of anatomical models reproducing the human circulatory system, exposed in the Cappella Sansevero in Naples. Realised in the second half of the 18th century, they are built on top of a couple of human skeletons, a male and a female. The reproduction of the vessel system was realised with metal wire, wax and silk, but because of its richness in details, for a long time it was believed that it was of natural origin instead. The models were commissioned by Raimondo di Sangro, prince of Sansevero, and realised by
Écorché known as the “artist-anatomist” for the creation of a new science and the creative depiction to anatomy. Leonardo’s anatomical studies contributed to artistic exploration of the movement of the muscles, joints and bones. His goal was to analyze and understand the instruments behind the postures and gestures in the human body. The study of anatomical figures became popular among the medical academies across Europe around the 17th and 18th century, especially when there was a lack of bodies available for dissections. Medical students relied on these figures because they provided a good representation of what the anatomical model looks like.