Our example, long ago given the moniker Ottakar, came to us from a New York portrait artist who acquired it from his teacher, to whom it had been given many years earlier, dating our current history of the figure to about 1900.
Many were passed down from master to student, or changed hands by sale, gift, or inheritance, and by the 19th century they could be rented from colormen-merchants of artists' supplies-or purchased second hand. Always specially commissioned, each is believed to be the work of several artisans, but little is known about who made these highly individualized models. Mannequins of this quality took about a year to craft and were extremely costly, but were in great demand from the late 18th to the mid-19th century.
To gain a better understanding of how this figure was so successfully engineered, conservators plan to x-ray it in the near future. The artist could further stabilize the mannequin to defy gravity and allow it to hold its pose by dampening its mechanical joints to swell the wood. This remarkable agility was made possible by an intricate system of rotating wood ball-and-socket joints, numerous dowels, and an elaborate internal mechanism: a wood-and-metal armature, or "skeleton," that holds its parts in place. The flexibility of its shoulders and arms, hips and legs, wrists and ankles allows it to be configured into any position possible of the human body even each finger is easily manipulated to individually open and close. Unlike conventional sculpture that is carved and painted, or mannequins made for medical or fashion purposes, this avatar is fully articulated. Its blank stare, heavily lidded eyes, and enigmatic expression place it in an eerie space between human and nonhuman. Its abstracted androgynous geometric form is imbued with a lifelike appearance evoked by its large scale (five feet, three inches), its skin-toned gesso surface, sharply honed face, torso, limbs, and wasp waist, and, not least, the fine bones of its feet and the creviced palms of its hands. Ours is a type known as mannequin perfectionée, a term denoting its elaborate internal structure and naturalistic finish. Intended as a means of improving and refining the drawing or painting of figures, not as a substitute for working from the human model, mannequins were crafted to simulate muscle, flesh, and bone.
Left: The Met's recently acquired 19th-century French mannequin. This highly complex object was made in France, the center of mannequin production, and was sculpted of hardwood in the first half of the 19th century. The mannequin pictured at left, a superb and rare surviving example, is a recent addition to The Met's study collection of historic artists' materials. This Mannequin Type of figure may be as tall as twelve heads, but is usually about nine or ten heads.Long since forgotten, mannequins-also known as laymen or lay figures-were among the most essential but little-acclaimed tools of the artist's workshop from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. Half a head from the knee line are the calves of the legs which are about the width of the hip line. The knees are half way between the hip line and ankles, and the two knees together are two-thirds head wide. Decide upon the length of the figure at this point and start the legs at the fourth head. The hip line is at the three-and-one-half-head mark and is one and one-quarter heads wide. One-half head down from the bust line is the waist line, which is seven-eighths head wide. Mature figures require a lower bust line. Youthful figures are sketched with high, pointed bust lines. The bust line is located at the second head mark. Draw a horizontal line three-quarters of a head wide on each side of this line for the width of the shoulders. In the first inch draw an egg-shaped oval for the head.ĭrop down one-third of the second head for the shoulder line or pit of the neck. To do so,ĭraw a vertical line, lengthwise, about ten inches long and mark off each inch. However, the alert fashion artist must be familiar with the general proportions of this figure and should practise on several to acquire familiarity with the type. The Mannequin Type of fashion figure, because it is very-extreme and abstract in feeling, is unpopular in retail advertising and is confined almost exclusively to magazine illustrating and poster work.
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