zidouta.com

zidouta.com Amsterdam by Train

Anatomical Crucifixion

October 25th, 2007 · No Comments

Anatomical Crucifixion (James Legg). Plaster cast, wooden cross. 1801

Anatomical Crucifixion (James Legg). Plaster cast, wooden cross. 1801

Royal Academy of Arts Collection: Object of the month August:

“This gruesome figure was cast from the corpse of a murderer, taken straight from the gallows to be nailed to a cross and flayed in order to settle an artistic debate. Three Royal Academicians - the sculptor Thomas Banks and painters Sir Benjamin West and Richard Cosway - conducted this experiment to prove their belief that most depictions of the Crucifixion were anatomically incorrect.”

Tags: , , , ,