Skeletons and Écorchés

Here the Italian artist Domenico del Barbiere shows his colleagues what the human musculature looks like. He casts his anatomical instruction in a narrative form. Next to each écorché (French for 'skinned') is a skeleton in the same pose. The laurel wreath worn by one of the figures refers to the transience of worldly fame, as do the war trophies behind it.