Anatomy Sketchbook
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Object Label
Eastman Johnson used this sketchbook while enrolled in an anatomy class at the Düsseldorf Royal Academy in Germany. The meticulous, almost scientific precision of his skeleton studies reveals the school’s emphasis on draftsmanship and anatomical knowledge as fundamental tools for the artist. Many of the drawings include grids and other geometric guidelines, as well as notations about ideal proportions of the human body. Johnson parlayed his academic training into a successful career as a painter of American genre subjects.
Caption
Eastman Johnson (American, 1824–1906). Anatomy Sketchbook, 1849. Graphite on beige, medium weight, slightly textured laid paper, Sketchbook: 17 1/8 x 11 1/16 x 3/8 in. (43.5 x 28.1 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Albert Duveen, 40.61. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Anatomy Sketchbook
Date
1849
Medium
Graphite on beige, medium weight, slightly textured laid paper
Classification
Dimensions
Sketchbook: 17 1/8 x 11 1/16 x 3/8 in. (43.5 x 28.1 x 1 cm)
Inscriptions
Inscribed on label on front cover of book: "E Johnson / Royal Academy of Düsseldorf / Anatomical class. / 1849"
Credit Line
Gift of Albert Duveen
Accession Number
40.61
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