Personal Life
Von Hagens is an atheist. He is married to Angelina Whalley, who is the Creative Director of the Body Worlds exhibitions. He has three children from his first marriage and also retains the surname von Hagens, which is that of his first wife. When appearing in public, even when performing anatomical dissections, von Hagens always wears a black fedora (a reference to the hat worn in The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt).
Von Hagens has said that his grand goal is the founding of a "Museum of Man" where exhibits of human anatomy can be permanently shown. He is on record as commenting that after death he plans to donate plastinated wafers of his body to several universities, so that in death he can (physically) teach at several locations, something that he cannot do while alive. In January 2011, he announced that he was dying from Parkinson’s disease and that after his death his wife would plastinate his body and put his preserved corpse on display as part of the Body Worlds exhibitions.
Read more about this topic: Gunther Von Hagens
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