Are you looking for an idea for a Halloween outing? This is timely.
In the City of Lights, there is a place which, hidden from view, makes the bravest shiver. It is neither a haunted house nor a cemetery, but a very real museum, nestled within a historic hospital. Parisians who know it speak of it as the best kept secret in the capital. Those who dared to set foot there came out troubled. So, why so much mystery around this museum?
This gallery offers a unique experience. Here, there are no master paintings or classical sculptures; the works on display are nothing ordinary. It is a place where art and science meet in an atmosphere that is as fascinating as it is disturbing. No large signs at the entrance, nor souvenir shops, you have to go deeper into the corridors to reach this place steeped in history.
And for good reason, it was in 1867 that a doctor, Doctor Lailler, decided to collaborate with an artist to make casts of his patients suffering from various skin diseases. The idea was to allow medical students to realistically visualize different dermatological lesions, at a time when color photography did not yet exist. These wax casts, reproduced with incredible precision, revolutionized dermatology and have remained, over the years, a major support for teaching.
The place itself, classified as a Historic Monument, also contributes to the atmosphere. You enter it as if you were entering a sanctuary, and the silence that reigns there adds to the atmosphere. Accessible by reservation, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., you will therefore have to pay 7 euros to visit the famous Musée des Moulages, in the heart of the Saint-Louis hospital, in Paris. Sensitive souls refrain.
Behind the windows, nearly 4,807 casts are on display, illustrating around 200 dermatological diseases. Each cast is a faithful representation of the ailments of the time, such as syphilis, leprosy, acne and various fungal infections. But suffice to say that the precision of these works is striking, even terrifying.
