If part one of our Casting Histories series was your whispered invite into a historical museum of molding, then part two now becomes the seduction! 🌹

There was a Paris in the mid-1800s where sculptor studios doubled as secret archives. Vulvas, penises, torsos cast from sex workers, anonymous models, and lovers were molded in plaster. These casts were for private collections and ateliers, living in the hush-hush world of desire and realism.

The Hidden Plaster Rooms of 19th-Century Paris

In Paris of the 19th century, life casting was part of the sculptor’s toolkit and the scientist’s laboratory. The Musée d’Orsay’s Second Skin exhibition documented this beautifully, showing how artists, phrenologists, doctors, and private collectors all used plaster molds taken from living people.

Many of these casts were phrenological (for the head), medical (skin disorders), and even zoological, but the same method also enabled deeply realistic, intimate casts. They were fragments of bodies that blurred the lines between reality and imagination..

The Louvre’s Shadow Workshop

Now, here’s where things get messy: between 1880 and 1907, Eugène-Denis Arrondelle, head of the Louvre’s molding atelier, allegedly ran a side hustle: he used the museum’s resources to produce unauthorized plaster casts, added patinas, and sold molds privately as “Arrondelle originals.”

Some of these casts were marketed as full Louvre pieces. This exposed the Louvre to underground trade and raised questions about authenticity, consent, as well as larger questions like who owns the right to reproduce a body.

Private Collections & Secret Erotic Archives 

There’s strong evidence that private sculptors’ ateliers held plaster casts from real, living models. For some sculptors, the casts were objects of longing, beauty, and power. Critics of the time, Baudelaire among them, suggested that casts of living bodies were morally suspect.

Ethics of Intimacy and Reproduction 

Looking back at these archives means acknowledging hard questions: 

Who was being cast? 

What were the conditions? 

Who owned the molds, and what did they do with them? 

We’re forced to reckon with power, consent, intimacy, and preservation. 

If this glimpse into the archive stirs something in you, keep an eye out for the next chapter in our “Casting Histories: The Erotic Museum in Your Bedroom” series. You are always welcome to explore our blog + Instagram for more inspiration and information! ♥️