Écorché: Studies of Arms and Shoulders

Écorché: Studies of Arms and Shoulders by Eugène Delacroix is a powerful graphite drawing focusing on human anatomy, crucial to the artist's training and mastery of figurative representation. Executed sometime between 1815 and 1863, the work demonstrates the rigorous academic requirements placed upon aspiring masters in the 19th century, particularly the need to understand musculature stripped of skin, a practice known as écorché.

The drawing meticulously renders the complex network of muscles, tendons, and bone structures visible in the arms and shoulders. Delacroix utilizes the graphite medium with precision, employing subtle shading and careful cross-hatching to define volume and depth, capturing the form with scientific accuracy. This foundational study serves not just as an exercise, but as a critical reference tool, aiding the artist in creating the dynamic and often dramatically posed figures that would define the French Romantic movement later in his career.

Delacroix's commitment to fundamental drawing skills is strongly evident in the exacting precision captured here. Though primarily known for his sweeping historical and literary canvases, anatomical studies such as this were vital to his success in depicting the human body in motion. This important piece of academic draughtsmanship resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because of the drawing's age and historical significance, high-quality prints of this fundamental work are widely available through public domain sources, allowing students and admirers worldwide to examine the technical skill of the master draughtsman.