Staand mannelijk naakt met opgeheven armen, naar rechts 1874 - 1925

Jan Veth made this nude male figure in charcoal, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. It’s a study in posture and anatomy, the kind of work that was central to academic art training. Nude studies like this were a staple in the curricula of art academies across Europe, and they served a specific social function. These institutions perpetuated a certain idea of art, one that placed a high value on technical skill and knowledge of the classical tradition. Drawing from life, especially the nude, was seen as the ultimate test of an artist's ability. But it also controlled whose bodies could be represented, and who was allowed to represent them. The nude model was almost always a white, male figure, reinforcing a very specific idea of beauty and power. To understand this drawing, we might look at the records of the art academies, the writings of art critics, and even social histories of the body. All of these resources can help us to understand the social and institutional forces that shaped its creation and reception.