Dissected
Anatomy lessons in the Dijon collections
Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon
- From 4 December 2026 to 29 March 2027
- Palais des ducs et des États de Bourgogne,
- Place de la Sainte Chapelle, 21000 Dijon
- musees.dijon.fr
Focusing on the theme of the body, this temporary exhibition launches a series designed to showcase the collections of the Graphic Arts Department at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, which boasts some 14,000 drawings and over 100,000 prints.
Spotlight on the drawing
of the human body
Since the Renaissance, the study of the body has been at the heart of artistic training: based on antiquity, on anatomical studies and on the live model.
The exhibition highlights these three foundational exercises of artistic training and traces the evolution of artistic ideals, from the idealised body to more realistic approaches, exploring how the human figure has evolved throughout the history of figurative art.
Nearly 200 drawings and prints
most of them never before seen
The exhibition reveals nearly two hundred drawings and prints from the Graphic Arts Department of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon. Dating from the 16th to the 20th century and mostly never before seen, they are displayed alongside sculptures.
This selection is enriched by loans from institutions in Dijon: anatomy treatises from the Municipal Library, anatomical models from the University of Burgundy, and study drawings from the National School of Fine Arts in Dijon.
The contemporary vision that is shaking up figurative art will be represented through works on loan from the FRAC Bourgogne and private collections.
Attributed to Luca Cambiaso
(Moneglia, 1527 – Madrid, 1585)
Diane defending herself against a satyr
Brown ink
Inv. DG 566
A three-part journey
Three main sections present the three foundations of artists’ academic training.
Throughout the exhibition, numerous drawings from the collection of the Dijon School of Drawing – founded in 1766 by François Devosges – will shed light on the reality of drawing instruction in the 18th century.
After the Antiques
In the 18th century, drawing schools spread throughout the provinces, modelled on the Royal Academy.
They housed copies, casts and overmouldings of Italian antiquities, which became points of reference for generations of artists.
The Greek and Roman canons, studied down to their very proportions, fuelled learning and debate on ‘good taste’, reinforced by the return to antiquity at the end of the century.
Bénigne Gagneraux
(Dijon, 1756 – Florence, 1795)
Torso of Laocoön
Charcoal and red chalk.
Inv. ES 46
© Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon/François Jay
Anatomical studies
From the Renaissance to the 20th century, anatomy was a cornerstone of artistic training.
Initially made possible by dissection, these studies drew on engraved or sculpted models of ‘flayed figures’ circulated in drawing schools.
The observation of the skeleton, muscles and joints reveals what the skin conceals and helps to understand forms, proportions and movement, bridging art and science.
Jacques-Fabien Gautier d’Agoty
(Marseille, 1710 – Paris, 1781)
Frontal view of a flayed man
Oil on canvas
1765
Inv. 2005-0-85
© Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon/François Jay
The Life Model
From the 18th century onwards, art schools proliferated in France, training both artists and craftsmen. Drawing became a tool for cultural and economic development.
The study of the life model, the final stage of training, remained for a long time the preserve of a select few destined for the Beaux-Arts and was forbidden to women.
The male nude served as a reference for compositions, initially inspired by antiquity, then becoming freer in style.
Anton Raphaël Mengs
(Aussig, 1728 – Rome, 1779)
Study of a man seen from behind
Black chalk and white chalk
Inv. AGSN 177
Curator
Myriam Fèvre, Head of Graphic Arts, Dijon Museums
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