Male Nude Walking to Left, Carrying Burden on His Shoulders n.d.

Rosso Fiorentino made this red chalk drawing of a male nude, sometime in the early 16th century in Italy. In its time, the drawing represents an investment in humanist ideals and in the artist’s studio practice. Consider the conditions that made this image possible. The availability of affordable paper supported a booming market for drawings. Artists needed studies like these in order to prepare for large-scale painting commissions and the market was supported by a new class of collectors. The drawing also reflects the ideals of the Renaissance academy in its valorization of the male nude. The contrapposto stance of the figure recalls ancient sculpture, while its aesthetic clearly emphasizes the beauty of the male body, as much as it seems to represent hard labor. What might seem like a simple sketch, in other words, speaks volumes about the artist’s world. By consulting archival documents and histories, we can better understand the role of art and the artist in Renaissance Italy.