Not currently on display at the V&A

Left Leg Écorgé

Wax Model
ca. 1550-ca. 1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This model in wax of a left leg écorgé is an anatomical study by an unknown artist made in Florence ca 1550.

It was formerly ascribed to Michelangelo and appeared to be a study for one of the legs of the Dead Christ supported on the lap of the Virgin, placed behind the high altar of the Cathedral of Florence. But the leg is also closely similar to the left leg of the dead Christ in the Pietà in St. Peter's in Rome.

The French word écorché literally means flayed or skinned. It has been adopted almost universally by scholars when speaking of a human figure stripped of its skin and thus displaying the superficial layers of muscles. Sculpted models or statuettes in which the muscles of the body are revealed (or écorchés) first appeared in sixteenth century Europe, and in Italy primarily.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleLeft Leg Écorgé (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Red wax
Brief description
Red wax model of a left leg ecorche, an anatomical study, Italy (Florence), ca. 1550-1600
Physical description
Red wax model of a left leg écorché, an anatomical study, including part of the hip. The ankle and heel broken off and replaced. Broken through the knee.
Dimensions
  • Length: 191mm
Object history
Formerly in the Gherardini Collection of artists’ terracotta and wax models Acquired in 1854
Production
Formerly ascribed to Michelangelo
Subjects depicted
Summary
This model in wax of a left leg écorgé is an anatomical study by an unknown artist made in Florence ca 1550.

It was formerly ascribed to Michelangelo and appeared to be a study for one of the legs of the Dead Christ supported on the lap of the Virgin, placed behind the high altar of the Cathedral of Florence. But the leg is also closely similar to the left leg of the dead Christ in the Pietà in St. Peter's in Rome.

The French word écorché literally means flayed or skinned. It has been adopted almost universally by scholars when speaking of a human figure stripped of its skin and thus displaying the superficial layers of muscles. Sculpted models or statuettes in which the muscles of the body are revealed (or écorchés) first appeared in sixteenth century Europe, and in Italy primarily.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1854. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 18.
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 128.
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume II: Text. Sixteenth to Twentieth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, p. 432.
Collection
Accession number
4113-1854

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Record createdAugust 24, 2004
Record URL
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