Artwork
Muscular tissue of the arm of a rhesus macaque
Muscular tissue of the arm of a rhesus macaque is a drawing by H.G, Wetselaar. It dates from 1970 and is held in the collection of the Leiden University Libraries. Created around 1970 by H.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1970 by H.G. Wetselaar, this image depicts the muscular anatomy of a rhesus macaque’s arm. Rendered as a flat, diagrammatic illustration, it presents the arrangement of muscles, tendons, veins and the skin’s contour, with a needle inserted into the forearm to indicate a specific point of interest. The work is part of the collection of the Museum of Ethnography.
Subject & Meaning
The illustration serves as a scientific visual aid, detailing the structure and interconnections of the primate’s forearm musculature. By exposing the layers beneath the skin, it highlights the functional relationships between muscle fibers, tendons and vascular elements, offering insight into comparative anatomy between non‑human primates and humans.
Technique & Style
Wetselaar employed precise line work and cross‑hatching to convey volume and depth, a method common in anatomical drawing. The flat, map‑like layout separates each component for clarity, while the needle’s inclusion adds a reference marker, emphasizing the work’s instructional purpose rather than aesthetic concerns.
History & Provenance
The piece dates to the early 1970s, a period when detailed anatomical illustrations were frequently produced for educational and research contexts. It entered the Museum of Ethnography’s holdings, where it remains accessible as a reference for scholars studying primate anatomy and the visual conventions of scientific illustration.
Artist & collection
Artist
H.G. Wetselaar spent his days hunched over microscopes in a quiet Leiden lab, sketching what most people ignore. His pencil caught the raw architecture of bodies we pretend are smooth—like the knotted muscles of a…
