Anatomy of the Horse

This edition reproduces all Stubbs' etchings and is taken from the 1853 printing, the last to use Stubbs' original plates. Including a full text of Stubbs' commentary. George Stubbs (1724-1806) was one of the most original artists Britain has produced. Such is the present reputation of his paintings, with their astonishingly convincing portraits of both animals and people, that it is easy to forget how much his success was based on rigorous scientific observation. In 1756 he rented an out-of-the-way farmhouse where he erected a special scaffolding to hold the cadavers of horses as he dissected and drew. (It is said that he had a particularly strong stomach when it came to smells.) After eighteen months of single-minded dedication Stubbs produced the drawings for the "Anatomy of the Horse", which he later etched himself. The result was a sensation. Letters of congratulation coming from scientists from all over Europe, amazed not only at the perfection of the finished work, but that it had been produced privately, without any patronage. The "Anatomy" remained a textbook for artists and scientists for well over a century, and to this day the strange, spare beauty of these prints continues to fascinate.