The University of Padua, one of the oldest universities in the world, in 2019 will host the second “International Congress on Wax Modelling” which is going to welcome experts, professionals and artists from the fields of Anatomy, Art History, Sculpture, Restoration, Conservation and Contemporary Art.

The congress will be organised at the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health.

After the pioneering Ceroplastics Congresses (Florence, 1975 and London, 1978) the first in 40 years was held on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of September 2017, at the Gordon Museum of Pathology, King’s College in collaboration with The Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers and Madame Tussauds. It was an independent event conceived and organised by Dr Roberta Ballestriero who spent the last 23 years researching the art of ceroplastics (wax modelling) in its different forms.

Of ancient origins, the art of ceroplastics or wax modelling was re-discovered in the 13th – 14th century in Italy with the cult of votive artefacts and it is again in Italy that the first anatomical models and scientific collections were developed during the 18th century.

Padua is the perfect venue to explore different aspects of this art (religious, secular, scientific). In 2019, with the help of many international experts in the field, we will continue to explore the multidisciplinary potentials of this fascinating technique in Art and Science.