Left Arm of a Hunter n.d.

Bernard Baron made this drawing of a left arm, “Left Arm of a Hunter,” sometime in the first half of the 18th century. The image renders the muscularity of the arm in great detail. Baron was French but spent most of his career in England where he was one of the leading engravers of his day. The drawing is an example of the kind of preparatory study an artist like Baron would have made, perhaps for a larger history painting. What is striking is the way the artist emphasizes the labor performed by the arm, which would have been admired in British society at the time. It evokes the masculine ideals of physical strength. Was the arm sketched from life, and if so, who was the model? What type of ‘hunter’ did Baron have in mind? Aristocratic? Working class? Careful historical research helps us to situate the image within the social and institutional context of 18th century British art.