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This is a print of a skeleton with wings, seated on a table. The skeleton appears to be holding or unfurling a large sheet of paper or cloth, on which is drawn the outline of a muscular human. The composition is set in a stark room with shadows cast by a strong, unseen light source, that casts a circle of light around the skeleton. On the table beside the skeleton and beneath it is a collection of skulls and bones.
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This is a print of a skeleton with wings, seated on a table. The skeleton appears to be holding or unfurling a large sheet of paper or cloth, on which is drawn the outline of a muscular human. The composition is set in a stark room with shadows cast by a strong, unseen light source, that casts a circle of light around the skeleton. On the table beside the skeleton and beneath it is a collection of skulls and bones.

National Gallery of Art · Print

A Winged Skeleton Holding an Anatomical Drawing

Jacques Gamelin

Date
1779
Medium
etching and engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 35.2 × 25.1 cm (13 7/8 × 9 7/8 in.) sheet: 52.7 × 39.9 cm (20 3/4 × 15 11/16 in.)
Classification
Print
Accession number
2013.170.5
Credit line
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Time span
1776 to 1800
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Portfolio and series

Series
Osteologie (Toulouse, 1779): Frontispiece

Subjects and terms

  • Death
  • Table
  • Skull
  • Anatomy
Provenance

(Andrew Edmunds, London); purchased 2013 by NGA.

Inscription

lower right in plate: permis d'imprimer / l'artique gugemage(?)

Watermarks

DANNOMAI(?) / 1777(?)

NGA object ID 162365. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.