Marble
University of Notre Dame
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Ecorché, after Michael Spang

Date

cast ca. 1767

Creator

Edward Burch

Michael Henry Spang

William Hunter

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

It was common practice for artists to attend dissections and draw from corpses in order to learn how to render the body convincingly. This petite sculpture is a reduced version of a life-size plaster cast made by the British anatomist William Hunter from the body of a dead criminal in 1750, which he used to teach his anatomy lessons. The plaster cast being somewhat fragile and unwieldy to transport, Hunter commissioned the Danish artist, Michael Spang, to make a small wax model after his plaster cast. The wax model was then cast in bronze by Hunter’s friend Edward Burch. In this case, the sculpture was cast in lead which allows for finer detail, and then given a bronze patina (surface treatment). The models were popular among students, easily carried from place to place, and found widely in studios across Europe. from Calendar of Events, Spring & Summer 2019

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It was common practice for artists to attend dissections and draw from corpses in order to learn how to render the body convincingly. This petite sculpture is a reduced version of a life-size plaster cast made by the British anatomist William Hunter from the body of a dead criminal in 1750, which he used to teach his anatomy lessons. The plaster cast being somewhat fragile and unwieldy to transport, Hunter commissioned the Danish artist, Michael Spang, to make a small wax model after his plaster cast. The wax model was then cast in bronze by Hunter’s friend Edward Burch. In this case, the sculpture was cast in lead which allows for finer detail, and then given a bronze patina (surface treatment). The models were popular among students, easily carried from place to place, and found widely in studios across Europe. from Calendar of Events, Spring & Summer 2019
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  • It was common practice for artists to attend dissections and draw from corpses in order to learn how to render the body convincingly. This petite sculpture is a reduced version of a life-size plaster cast made by the British anatomist William Hunter from the body of a dead criminal in 1750, which he used to teach his anatomy lessons. The plaster cast being somewhat fragile and unwieldy to transport, Hunter commissioned the Danish artist, Michael Spang, to make a small wax model after his plaster cast. The wax model was then cast in bronze by Hunter’s friend Edward Burch. In this case, the sculpture was cast in lead which allows for finer detail, and then given a bronze patina (surface treatment). The models were popular among students, easily carried from place to place, and found widely in studios across Europe. from Calendar of Events, Spring & Summer 2019
  • It was common practice for artists to attend dissections and draw from corpses in order to learn how to render the body convincingly. This petite sculpture is a reduced version of a life-size plaster cast made by the British anatomist William Hunter from the body of a dead criminal in 1750, which he used to teach his anatomy lessons. The plaster cast being somewhat fragile and unwieldy to transport, Hunter commissioned the Danish artist, Michael Spang, to make a small wax model after his plaster cast. The wax model was then cast in bronze by Hunter’s friend Edward Burch. In this case, the sculpture was cast in lead which allows for finer detail, and then given a bronze patina (surface treatment). The models were popular among students, easily carried from place to place, and found widely in studios across Europe. from Calendar of Events, Spring & Summer 2019
  • It was common practice for artists to attend dissections and draw from corpses in order to learn how to render the body convincingly. This petite sculpture is a reduced version of a life-size plaster cast made by the British anatomist William Hunter from the body of a dead criminal in 1750, which he used to teach his anatomy lessons. The plaster cast being somewhat fragile and unwieldy to transport, Hunter commissioned the Danish artist, Michael Spang, to make a small wax model after his plaster cast. The wax model was then cast in bronze by Hunter’s friend Edward Burch. In this case, the sculpture was cast in lead which allows for finer detail, and then given a bronze patina (surface treatment). The models were popular among students, easily carried from place to place, and found widely in studios across Europe. from Calendar of Events, Spring & Summer 2019
  • It was common practice for artists to attend dissections and draw from corpses in order to learn how to render the body convincingly. This petite sculpture is a reduced version of a life-size plaster cast made by the British anatomist William Hunter from the body of a dead criminal in 1750, which he used to teach his anatomy lessons. The plaster cast being somewhat fragile and unwieldy to transport, Hunter commissioned the Danish artist, Michael Spang, to make a small wax model after his plaster cast. The wax model was then cast in bronze by Hunter’s friend Edward Burch. In this case, the sculpture was cast in lead which allows for finer detail, and then given a bronze patina (surface treatment). The models were popular among students, easily carried from place to place, and found widely in studios across Europe. from Calendar of Events, Spring & Summer 2019
  • It was common practice for artists to attend dissections and draw from corpses in order to learn how to render the body convincingly. This petite sculpture is a reduced version of a life-size plaster cast made by the British anatomist William Hunter from the body of a dead criminal in 1750, which he used to teach his anatomy lessons. The plaster cast being somewhat fragile and unwieldy to transport, Hunter commissioned the Danish artist, Michael Spang, to make a small wax model after his plaster cast. The wax model was then cast in bronze by Hunter’s friend Edward Burch. In this case, the sculpture was cast in lead which allows for finer detail, and then given a bronze patina (surface treatment). The models were popular among students, easily carried from place to place, and found widely in studios across Europe. from Calendar of Events, Spring & Summer 2019
Edward Burch (British, 1730 - 1814)Michael Henry Spang (Danish, 1750 - 1766 or 1767)William Hunter (British, 1718 - 1783)
cast ca. 1767
Sculpture
Lead with bronze patination
2018.072.001
academic art
écorchés
figures
male
patina
Not on view, please request access
12 7/8 x 3 3/8 x 3 3/8 in. (32.7 x 8.57 x 8.57 cm)
Bernard Norling and Mary T. Norling Endowment for 18th- and 19th-Century Sculpture

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.