Allegory of Sculpture 

Gerard van Houten made this drawing in pen and brown ink, with gray wash over graphite, around the turn of the 18th century. It explores sculpture as an art form. The drawing depicts an artist's studio. In the foreground is a classical nude male sculpture, and in the background a seated artist is surrounded by works in progress. By the 1700s, academies across Europe had codified the methods and materials for creating "high art." The nude figure came to represent the apex of artistic skill, with the most important form of sculpture being free standing figures from classical antiquity. Van Houten's allegory suggests the importance of academic practice in the creation of art. To understand it better, we can examine the archives of the academies, paying close attention to their prescribed methods. The meaning of art is always dependent on its institutional context.