The Drawing Academy at the Felix Meritis Society in Amsterdam

Various artists/makers

Not on view

The Felix Meritis Society opened in Amsterdam in the late eighteenth century to promote the arts and sciences. (Its name translates as "happiness through merit.") The society’s drawing classroom was outfitted for study from live models. It featured a wire frame affixed to the ceiling from which ropes could be hung to suspend a backdrop and support models’ arms while they posed for extended periods. In this scene, artists gather to sketch from a live model and a skinned cadaver.

The Drawing Academy at the Felix Meritis Society in Amsterdam, Reinier Vinkeles (Dutch, Amsterdam 1741–1816 Amsterdam), Etching and engraving

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