The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Flayed Man, Museum of Comparative Anatomy, Paris

Flayed Man, Museum of Comparative Anatomy, Paris

2005
(American, b. 1953)
America, 21st century
chromogenic process color print
Image: 121.9 x 152.4 cm (48 x 60 in.); Paper: 121.9 x 152.4 cm (48 x 60 in.); Mounted: 121.9 x 152.4 cm (48 x 60 in.)
Judith and James Saks in memory of Lynn and Dr. Joseph Tomarkin Endowment 2010.271
© Richard Barnes
Location: 001A ArtLens Exhibition

Did You Know?

The Museum of Comparative Anatomy in Paris includes the skeleton of an African elephant once owned by King Louis XIV of France.

Description

Look closely at the things in Richard Barnes’s photograph of the Museum of Comparative Anatomy in Paris. An army of skeletons seems to march together in the same direction. A flayed human figure, or a figure with its musculature revealed, is at the head of the group. While these different species would never have realistically mingled, the museum display constructs this artificial reality. Barnes’s work often explores how museums make meaning through the selective display and interpretation of objects.
  • 2005
    Richard Barnes (the artist) [1953–]
    2005–10
    (Michael Foley Gallery, New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    November 29, 2010–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • ArtLens Light Sensitive Rotation - March 2024. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 16-September 8, 2024).
    BIG: Photographs from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 12-October 9, 2016).
  • {{cite web|title=Flayed Man, Museum of Comparative Anatomy, Paris|url=false|author=Richard Barnes|year=2005|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.271