Dissection of the Trunk of a Seated White Man 

Original work → Joseph Maclise, c. 1851

Joseph Maclise (1815–1890) approached anatomical illustration with a strange mix of precision and drama. His Surgical Anatomy plates, published in 1851, are not merely instructional diagrams—they are staged portraits, drawn with the composure of classical sculpture. Musculature, gesture, and dissection sit on the same plane, creating images that hover between medical record and aesthetic study.

Fig. 2 exemplifies that dual register. The figure is shown in a calm, three-quarter twist, shoulders set, gaze dropped toward the floor. The torso is opened with surgical exactness, but the body itself remains grounded and human. it's neither heroic nor grotesque. Maclise gives him weight, intention, and a kind of quiet awareness that complicates the usual clinical distance of nineteenth-century anatomy.

Where many anatomical plates of the period prioritized shock or spectacle, Maclise’s rendering feels more contemplative. The exposure of the thoracic and abdominal cavity becomes less an act of display and more an invitation into the architecture of the body. This restoration preserves that tension: the meeting of interior and exterior, diagram and portrait, instruction and presence.

• Certificate of Authenticity

• Museum-grade giclée on natural-toned, acid-free 250 gsm matte paper

• A3 or 16×24 sizing including white border, with optional wooden frame

• Title and plate number printed in situ

• Produced in limited runs through Archive of Arcane Air

• Please allow 3–5 business days for processing