1819
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Ecorche drawing of a greyhound is a 1819 by Edwin Landseer, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This drawing shows a greyhound’s muscles and bones without skin. Sir Edwin Landseer made it as a study around 1820. He wanted to understand animal bodies inside and out. Landseer worked with a surgeon who taught anatomy. He also watched live animals in a London zoo. His careful sketches became the basis for his famous paintings. Look up the technique of cross-hatching to see how artists shade like Landseer did.
This drawing is an anatomical study of a greyhound by Edwin Henry Landseer, created as part of a series of eight écorché sketches of dogs and cats made between 1817 and 1821. The work reflects Landseer’s early engagement with animal anatomy, developed through formal study under surgeon Sir Charles Bell and observation of dissected specimens. It was later included in his posthumous sale of 1874 before passing through private collections until acquired in 2010.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. His best-known work is the lion sculptures at the base of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.
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