Chuck Holliday maintains a survey of the evidence, which is very intriguing indeed.

I was fortunate enough to come across the link to Mr. Holliday’s page at the too-good-to-beleive Zymoglyphic Museum, which specializes in one of my favorite inappropriate technologies, taxidermy and its’ peculiar ways.

Frederik Ruysch is a precursor to the contemorary German artist who creates tableaux from plasticized human corpses. I haven’t been able to bring myself to investigate the contemporary person’s work, but I find Rausch’s work delightfully horrible.

Naturally, I was directed hence courtesy of the indispensible Metafilter. And another person who enjoyed the link pointed the way to this portrait of Dr. Rausch.