Delacroix 2018

5. Two Studies of the Flayed Muscles of a Man’s Head and Shoulder Ecorché—Deux études de la tête et des épaules d’un homme

Pencil on paper 9 5 ⁄ 8 x 14 5 ⁄ 8

inches (24.5 x 37.3 cm) Estate sale stamp lower center: Lugt 838a Inscribed lower right: Clavicule and numbered: No. 203

PROVENANCE Delacroix sale 1864, possibly part of lot 659 ( Etudes d’ostéologie et de mythologie. Dessin et croquis. 71 feuilles ) . The drawings on this page and the next are rare examples of a particularly important drawing exercise in Delacroix’s milieu called the écorché or flayed anatomy study of the musculature beneath the skin of humans or animals. The discipline of the écorché has been explained by Ashley Dunn as reflecting “the idea that a familiarity with the underlying structures of the body was key to accurately presenting the human form.” (see MMA 2018, pp. 13–15) .