An écorché is a figure drawn, painted, or sculpted showing the muscles of the body without skin. Renaissance architect and theorist, Leon Battista Alberti recommended that when painters intend to depict a nude, they should first arrange the muscles and bones, then depict the overlying skin.

Overview

Some of the first well known studies of this kind were performed by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

. His studies included dissecting the cadaver and creating detailed drawings of the subject. However, there are some accounts of this same practice taking place as far back as ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

, though the specifics are not known.

The term écorché, meaning literally "flayed

Flaying

Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.-Scope:An animal may be flayed in preparation for human consumption, or for its hide or fur; this is more commonly called skinning....

", came into usage via the French Academies (such as the École des Beaux Arts) in the 19th century. This form of study still continues at a few select schools throughout the world including the New York Academy of Art

New York Academy of Art

The New York Academy of Art or the Graduate School of Figurative Art is an American private, not-for-profit art university, located at 111 Franklin Street in the Manhattan borough of New York City.-Foundation:...

, the Art Students League of New York

Art Students League of New York

The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...

 and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco

Academy of Art University

The Academy of Art University , a for-profit university owned by the Stephens Institute, was founded in San Francisco, California in 1929 by Richard S. Stephens...

.

External links

• Image of an écorché figure