George Stubbs ARA, Human Body: frontal view

Human Body: frontal view, 1804-06

George Stubbs ARA (1724 - 1806)

RA Collection: Art

These haunting images of the human form were drawn and etched by George Stubbs for his last great venture in the field of anatomy, a hugely ambitious, incomplete treatise entitled A Comparative Anatomical Exposition of the Human Body with that of a Tiger and Common Fowl, London, [1804-06]. Marking the culmination of his lifelong study of the subject, Stubbs's investigation of the homology of the bone structure of vertebrates was at the forefront of current scientific thought. However in his desire to prove his theories he drew the anatomical figure of a man that is so far from the classical norm as to evoke the pathos of ugliness.

Object details

Title
Human Body: frontal view
Artist/printmaker
George Stubbs ARA (1724 - 1806)
Published by
George Stubbs ARA (1724 - 1806)
From
[George Stubbs, A comparative anatomical exposition of the human body with that of a tiger and common fowl, London 1804-06], pl.VI
Date
1804-06
Object type
Plate
Medium
Etching
Dimensions

494 mm x 371 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
03/1649
This image is from a book

No I. (-III) Of A Comparative Anatomical Exposition Of The Structure Of The Human Body, With That Of A Tiger And Common Fowl; In Thirty Tables, Two Copper-Plates To Each Table, 20 Inches By 15; Forming Six Numbers - Ten Plates To Each Number. The Whole Executed By George Stubbs, Author Of "The Anatomy Of The Horse." Conditions ... [6 lines] - London:: [1803?-ca. 1806]

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