Collection
/
American Art

Anatomy Sketchbook

Eastman Johnson

1 of 32

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

American Art

Title

Anatomy Sketchbook

Date

1849

Medium

Graphite on beige, medium weight, slightly textured laid paper

Classification

Drawing

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

Have information?

Have information about an artwork? Contact us at

bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.

Artists and makers

Eastman Johnson

16 works in the collection