A blood-red shimmering curtain reveals the dramatically lit cast of a crucified man at the start of a new exhibition at the Museum of London. James Legg was hanged in 1801 for killing a fellow Chelsea Pensioner, and arrived in the museum from the Royal Academy of Arts. His corpse-warm from the gallows-had been given to artists to be flayed and crucified to verify the accuracy of painted portrayals of Christ. Starkly lit, the plastercast makes for a theatrical opening to Doctors, Dissection and Resurrection Men. The exhibition presents finds from an archaeological dig in 2006 of an area of open ground known as Bedstead Square, beside the Royal London Hospital. A green space preserved since the early 19th century, Bedstead Square proved to be a burial ground, full of the dissected remains of hospital patients alongside some animal bones.
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