Study of an écorché dog's head
Drawing
ca.1820-22 (drawn)
ca.1820-22 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Study of a dog's head facing left with open mouth, the skin removed to show the underlying muscles. The back and top of the head are lightly sketched in black chalk.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Study of an écorché dog's head |
| Materials and techniques | Black and red chalk |
| Brief description | Drawing, possibly by J.F. Lewis, of an écorché dog's head, black and red chalk, ca.1820 |
| Physical description | Study of a dog's head facing left with open mouth, the skin removed to show the underlying muscles. The back and top of the head are lightly sketched in black chalk. |
| Style | |
| Gallery label | Attributed to John Frederick Lewis 1804/5-1876
A Dissection of a Dog's Head
About 1824
This gruesome anatomical drawing illustrated the similarities, in subject and style, between George Stubbs (1724-1806) and his young followers, Landseer and Lewis. Although in the style od Stubbs, it was bought by the Museum as a Landseer but is now attributed to J.F. Lewis.
Coloured chalk and watercolour
Purchased 1878
Museum no. AL.8384 |
| Object history | Purchased from R. Jackson, 1878 |
| Production | There are anecdotal records of J. F. Lewis and his friend Edwin Landseer dissecting animals together in their youth, in order to make drawings of their muscular structures. This drawing of a dog's head is stylistically unlike drawings of the same subject by Landseer (compare drawings in the V&A E.2-2011 and E.4-2011), but could possibly be by Lewis. The only other écorché drawing attributed to Lewis to have come to light is a study of a dog in the Wellcome collection, Wellcome Library no. 47515i, which is stylistically dissimilar to 8384. There are a number of studies by Lewis of animal heads in the British Museum and in the Royal Academy, but as these are not écorchés they are not directly comparable. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 8384 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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