Eugen Sandow having his body cast in sections for the Sandow Statue, Brucciani workshop, 1900...

Eugen Sandow (1867-1925) born Friedrich Wilhelm Mueller; pioneering bodybuilder of Prussian origin who became a star for Ziegfeld's Follies in USA and is known today as the 'Father of Bodybuilding'. Sandow claimed to have built his body in emulation of specific sculptures, seen in sculpture museums. A cast of his body in a classical pose with all muscles flexed was commissioned by the British Museum of Natural History, executed by the company of Domenico Brucciani & Co and exhibited in the Museum in 1901 until its withdrawal from public view one year later due to complaints. Even after a fig leaf was added it was deemed too offensive;