Frontispiece: Six Figures Académiques 1742 - 1743

Carle Vanloo created this print, "Frontispiece: Six Figures Académiques," sometime in the mid-18th century. It introduces a series of prints designed to teach artists how to draw the human body. In the print, we see a male nude holding a tablet that declares the purpose of the series. This image encapsulates the values of the French Royal Academy, which Vanloo directed. The Academy emphasized drawing from the nude male figure as the foundation of artistic training. By mastering the male nude, artists were believed to gain access to an ideal of beauty and a mastery of form that could then be applied to any subject. The image is a fascinating document of the history of art institutions. To better understand it, we could research the curriculum of the French Royal Academy, the social status of its members, and the political functions it served. Approaching art in this way helps us understand its role in shaping cultural values.