Zittend mannelijk naakt, op de rug gezien (3e prijs 1806) Possibly 1806

Editor: This drawing, "Zittend mannelijk naakt, op de rug gezien", or "Seated Male Nude, Seen from the Back," created by Henricus Franciscus Wiertz around 1806. The texture created by the dry media – charcoal and pencil, maybe? – feels surprisingly modern. What do you make of its somewhat detached, classical feel? Curator: Detached is a good word. I sense that, too, in the rendering. I am drawn into the palpable vulnerability in the figure’s pose and gaze which is directed... elsewhere, far from the viewer. This really captures something of the Neoclassical focus on ideal form… and maybe a bit of loneliness that peeks through from the Romantic era. Editor: Romantic era, definitely, although it says that the drawing comes from 1806. Curator: Quite so! You know, time is an onion with so many layers of influence, the zeitgeist only adopts one flavour every few years! It may have begun earlier, only to solidify later into "Romanticism," but these artistic labels have many "possiblys", don’t they? Wiertz, using such careful draftsmanship and that particular palette, also creates such tenderness. The light gently caresses the contours, almost protective, wouldn't you say? And then there is also his academic exercise - his exploration, to show technical understanding, of musculature, perhaps after the antique... and it gets very passionate, to me. Almost, a reverent gaze. What did you expect when you look at this work? Editor: I didn’t expect it to feel so… human. Especially with a ‘scientific’, anatomically correct depiction, but seeing it now, it almost radiates intimacy. Curator: Precisely! So, in a way, by embracing form, by learning the craft, by showing rather than hiding - Wiertz allows for truth, and maybe also the heart. Editor: So there is feeling and thought to this seemingly cold nude? I will make sure that is highlighted for our visitors. Thanks! Curator: A wonderful way of putting it; it shows how vital this dialogue with the piece really is. Thanks to you for reminding us of that.