Beauchêne preparation of a long-horned beetle

Felix Plateau (1841-1911) was a zoologist by career. He observed and studied animal anatomy and morphology. In 1870, he became a professor of comparative anatomy and zoology at Ghent University. He greatly expanded the university’s zoological collection to include preparations, stuffed and mounted animals and skeletons, which he used in his lessons. Felix Plateau was the son of the famous Belgian physicist and mathematician Joseph Plateau (1801-1883).

In a Beauchêne preparation, an exoskeleton or skull is completely taken apart. Then each part is mounted back in the correct position but slightly separated from the rest. This retains the impression of the whole object, but you can also see all the separate parts.

The technique is named after its inventor, the French surgeon and anatomist Edmé François Chauvot de Beauchêne (1780-1830).

The first skulls prepared according to the Beauchêne technique had to be cleaned, boiled and soaked to make it easier to separate the different parts. Later in the 18th century, model makers used the ‘exploded technique’, in which they filled the skull with dried beans or peas that absorbed liquid, then swelled up, ultimately forcing the bones of the skull apart. Once the different parts were dry, they could be put back together.