I think you guys invented it, when the medical colleges got going and there wasn't a legitimate source for bodies. Michelangelo knew some body brokers: he did a bunch of dissections that were probably illegal/unapproved by the monastery hospital he got them from.
This is a common myth, but basically everybody around him knew what Michaelangelo was doing with the dissections. It might not have been the most ethical part of his work but his patrons, the church, and peers were all totally fine with it. At one point he got the bodies through the church, in exchange for building them a new crucifix. It was definitely approved of by the monastery.
I went to Italy recently and our guides specifically told us Michaelangelo got the bodies legitimately in at least three places, the Vatican museums, the academia where David is, and the church where his tomb is.
Interesting. I guess it depends on who needs to give permission for it to be OK. It seems like a lot of people would get upset if their family members' bodies were used for that purpose (even now).
Thanks for the details, I can see how the myth grew: "bodysnatching Michelangelo" is a more exciting story than "the hospital knew about it and his sketches actually helped advance medical science eventually"
I know that med schools would dig up bodies for research, probably there were others in the trade, too. It were other times though, we had little anatomical knowledge and the church highly regulated autopsies. Legally, researchers mostly relied on convicts because fuck their souls I guess.
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u/macho_greens May 06 '26
I think you guys invented it, when the medical colleges got going and there wasn't a legitimate source for bodies. Michelangelo knew some body brokers: he did a bunch of dissections that were probably illegal/unapproved by the monastery hospital he got them from.