George Stubbs, an engraving from The Anatomy of the Horse

Published in London, England, AD 1766

The famous painter of animals establishes his credentials

This engraving is a plate from George Stubb's The Anatomy of the Horse. It was the first anatomical study of the horse since Carlo Ruini's Dell Anatomia et dell' Infirmita del Cavallo (1598) published over 160 years previously. Stubbs' engravings were far more precise and detailed than Ruini's schematic woodcuts.

Stubbs was both scientist and artist. He dissected the horse himself, with the aid of Mary Spencer, his partner, in an isolated Lincolnshire farmhouse. As he stripped away the muscles, he made detailed drawings of what he saw. Then, in London, he showed the drawings to engravers experienced in anatomical subjects. They found them difficult to interpret, so Stubbs decided to make the engravings himself. The difficulty that he faced was to show clearly the different textures of vein, muscle and bone using a medium that is essentially 'linear'. He succeeded so well that for over a century the book was the principal guide for veterinarians as well as painters. It also shows the incredible knowledge of his subject that stands at the core of his practice as a painter.

The print shows the side view of the first stage of dissection with just the skin removed.

A. Griffiths, Prints and printmaking: an int, 2nd edition (London, The British Museum Press, 1996)

T. Clayton, The English print, 1688-1802 (New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1997)