A Sheet of Anatomical Studies

1600·Pen and brown ink on ivory laid paper·27.1 × 18.8 cm (10 11/16 × 7 7/16 in.)

<p>In addition to his study of Classical antiquity, Peter Paul Rubens also developed his sense of ideal anatomical form through proto-scientific treatises, some of which represented the muscles of the body with the skin flayed. Rubens adopted this manner, known as écorché, for his compelling representation of two interlocking forearms and a face. A virtuoso performance of the use of pen and ink (perhaps the most unforgiving media since it cannot be easily blended or erased), the drawing belongs to a group of about a dozen similar sheets that Rubens intended to publish as an anatomical treatise. The project was never realized, but one of the members of his workshop distributed a series of engravings years after the artist’s death that included these images together with other highlights of the artist’s repertoire.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1600
Medium: Pen and brown ink on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: 27.1 × 18.8 cm (10 11/16 × 7 7/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Peter Paul Rubens

Artist

Peter Paul Rubens

Painting

Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens's highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of classical and Christian history. His unique and immensely popular Baroque style emphasised movement, colour, and sensuality, which followed the immediate, dramatic artistic style promoted in the Counter-Reformation. Rubens was a painter producing altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. He was also a prolific designer of cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops and of frontispieces for the publishers in Antwerp.

Siegen, Westphalia

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