William Page, born Albany, NY 1811-died - (An Ecorche, Rear View) - 1853 - T-Shirt

This brown ink study shows a male ecorché figure seen from behind, one arm raised above the shoulder and the body balanced on a low circular base.

Visual Elements & Composition

The figure fills a tall, narrow sheet in sepia brown on warm parchment, with the rest of the page left open. The right arm lifts high, the left bends so the hand rests near the hip, and the weight settles onto one leg, so the torso turns in a gentle S-curve. Fine hatched lines and short strokes build the shoulder blades, spine, buttocks and the long muscles of the legs, while the head and neck are drawn with a few precise marks. The signature and date, "W. Page 1853", sit at lower right.

Meaning & Symbolism

An ecorché is an academic teaching model in which the skin is imagined away so each muscle can be studied in its place. Artists drew figures like this to understand the anatomy beneath the surface before working from live models or composing finished paintings. Showing the body from behind stresses the layered structure of the back and legs, and the raised arm echoes the classical statuary students copied in the academies. William Page (1811–1885), born in Albany, New York, spent much of his career in Italy, where he studied the Old Masters and painted portraits and idealized figures. This sheet records disciplined training, in which accuracy of structure was the foundation of figure painting.

Built on the Drawing Itself

A tee carries this study across the chest, where the figure faces away from the viewer and the lifted arm draws the eye upward. Its restrained palette of parchment and brown suits the plain cotton it is printed on, and the quiet linework reads clearly at close range. The result is a drawing from 1853, a working anatomy lesson, worn on everyday clothes.