In this paper, I investigate the intersection of artistic training, anatomical science, and ethical inquiry in post-Enlightenment England, focusing on the Royal Academy of Arts and its use of anatomical casts made from human remains. Through the work of figures like William Hunter and Joshua Reynolds, I explore how the Academy embraced empirical observation to reshape artistic pedagogy and challenge the boundaries between art and science. Central to my analysis is the Anatomical Crucifixion, a cast created from the corpse of an executed criminal, which exemplifies the period’s shifting attitudes toward the human body—from sacred entity to object of study. I then extend this historical examination to contemporary practices, particularly the controversial exhibition Body Worlds. Drawing connections between past and present, I argue that the ethical tensions surrounding the display of human remains—issues of consent, commodification, and spectacle—persist today. By placing these practices in conversation, I reflect on how institutions produce and legitimize knowledge through the display of the dead, and what these displays reveal about our ongoing struggle to balance scientific inquiry with respect for human dignity.