c. 1883

Comparative Analysis of Anatomical Photographs

American, 1844 - 1916

These figure drawings are tracings from the photographs known as the "Naked Series," made by Eakins and his students at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in about 1883. Diverse figure types were photographed in a set of seven poses to illustrate the body's "general axis of weight and of action," which was drawn as a line through the spine of each figure. Eakins created this comparative analysis, evidently based on photos of himself, to accompany the "Naked Series;" its images and texts explain the principles of this controversial project and its value to artists.