Two Studies of a Flayed Man (recto)

1554

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Two Studies of a Flayed Man (recto) is a 1554 by Bartolommeo da Arezzo, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Bartolommeo da Arezzo
When & what style?: 1554 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

The painting shows two views of a flayed man's lower body, hanging above the ground. It's half flayed, with skin removed from one side. The artist studied corpses to understand the human form. This study was likely made to learn about anatomy. The artist was obsessed with studying corpses, even stealing them from graveyards. To learn more, look up the technique of sfumato.

The story of this work

Overview

In order to understand the movement of the human form, Michelangelo was known to have studied flayed bodies (cadavers with their skin removed) and in fact made several drawings of them. Bartolommeo da Arezzo—a follower of Michelangelo working a generation after the master—became obsessed with studying corpses, even stealing them from local graveyards. On one side of this sheet (recto), he drew two views of the lower part of the same body, which is half flayed and shown hanging above the ground.

Read the full account in the museum source.