Research Point: George Stubbs

George Stubbs 1724 -1806

This engraving plate is from from George Stubb's  book called ‘The Anatomy of the Horse’.  It was the first study of the anatomy of a horse since Carlo Ruini had produced a schematic woodcut 160 years previously.

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

 Stubbs was a scientist and an artist.  He dissected the horse with the assistance of his partner Mary Spencer.  He would draw in detail every section of the animal as he removed the layers.  Eventually he produced a book in 1766 that was the guide for veterinarians for well over a century.

 Whistlejacket

This beautiful painting shows the knowledge of not only how to use the paint but the exact location of all the different planes and angles of a horse.
George was also asked to draw the first kangaroo from Australia returned to England which was stuffed.  He like to draw and study many different animals including dogs, pigs, rhinoceros, lions, tigers and zebras.  Many of these animals were bought to him from overseas after long voyages.

Stubbs was given the fur, the scull and a few bones so he put together what he thought the animal would look like.  He was not able to dissect an animal and had to be satisfied by what I would think he was told about the animal.  Unlike a dog for instance, that he could dissect and obtain the same information as he could about the horse.

 

As this painting shows called ''Spaniel in a Landscape'' 1784

 ''Mares and foals without a background''1762

George Stubbs was incredibly talented and the monumental amount of anatomical drawings he did with his animal subject gave him the knowledge he needed to produce in precise detail the chosen subject.  He is described as an incredibly disciplined person who drank only water for 40 years and would walk for miles every day.