Self-Portrait and Anatomical Studies. Verso: Two Male Anatomical Studies 1783

Editor: This is Henry Fuseli's "Self-Portrait and Anatomical Studies" from around the late 18th century, a sketch on paper. It feels like a glimpse into the artist's working process, almost utilitarian in its rawness. What strikes you about it? Curator: The rapid, almost frantic marks reveal a mind grappling with form, both the artist's own and that of the idealized body. It's a study, yes, but also a site of production, where ideas about art-making are actively being worked through via material engagement with the page and the subject. How does the verso speak to this? Editor: I see those additional anatomical studies as further explorations of the body as a material object. It makes me think about Fuseli's access to anatomical knowledge and the labor involved in creating these studies. Curator: Precisely. The means of artistic production, the labor of drawing, and the material realities of the body become intertwined, challenging traditional notions of artistic genius. Has this changed how you perceive it? Editor: Definitely. I now see it as less of a finished piece and more as a document of artistic labor and intellectual pursuit.