Claude-Ambroise Seurat

Claude-Ambroise Seurat (10 April 1797^[1] or 4 April 1798^[2] – after 1833^[2]) was a freak show attraction from Troyes, France. He was known as "the anatomical man or the living skeleton" (French: l'homme anatomique ou le squelette vivant) due to his extraordinarily low body weight.^[4][5][6]

Claude-Ambroise Seurat
Born	Variously listed as: (1797-04-10)10 April 1797[1] (1798-04-04)4 April 1798[2] Troyes, France
Died	after 1833[2]
Nationality	French
Other names	Anatomical Man The Living Human Skeleton
Occupation	Freak show attraction
Known for	being extraordinarily underweight
Height	Variously given as: 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) in 1832[2] 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) in 1825[1] 5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (1.71 m)[3]

Life

The date of Seurat's birth is uncertain, being variously reported as either 10 April 1797^[1] or 4 April 1798.^[2] Seurat's tours across Europe aroused controversy and because of the publicity, there was extensive interest in his life,^[1] particularly from the medical establishment.^[7] An account, for instance, cited that Seurat was born healthy and was normal like other children except for his depressed chest.^[1]

By age 14, his health dwindled so that his frame already became skeletal in form.^[1] When he visited London for a tour in 1825,^[1] Seurat was described as having normal height, being between 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)^[1] and 5 ft 71⁄2 in (1.71 m),^[3] but with an emaciated body; at the time, he weighed 78 pounds (35.4 kg).^[1] His upper arm circumference was 4 inches (10 cm) and his waist measured less than 24 inches (61 cm) around, while his neck was short, flat, and broad.^[3]

Later, in 1832, he was stated to have weighed 43 French pounds and was 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) tall.^[2] Seurat's last recorded performance was in 1833 at Dinan in Brittany.^[2]

Seurat was also the subject of an anatomical drawing of Francisco Goya after the Spanish painter met him in 1826 at a circus in Bordeaux.

The date of Seurat's death is unknown. In 1868, Gilbert Richard Redgrave commented: "I have not yet been able to ascertain the date of his death. Who knows whether the poor fellow may not still be going the round of the French fairs?"^[2]

After his death it was discovered that a tapeworm had been depriving Seurat of nutrition.^[8]