Weiblicher Akt, grabend, in Rückansicht 

Victor Müller made this pencil drawing, ‘Female Nude, Digging, Seen from the Back,’ sometime in the mid-19th century. The drawing is interesting as it seems to take us behind the scenes, into the artist’s studio. We see Müller working out the pose of the nude model, perhaps searching for a more ‘naturalistic’ or ‘realistic’ depiction of the body. In 19th century Europe the art academy was still the dominant force in the art world, setting standards for what was considered ‘good’ art. Yet, by the mid-19th century artists were increasingly challenging academic conventions. Courbet, for example, argued for the importance of representing everyday life rather than idealised historical or mythological scenes. Drawings such as this can help us understand how artists negotiated the tension between the demands of the academy and their own artistic vision. Art historians use a range of sources, including letters and exhibition reviews, to understand the complex social and institutional contexts in which art is made and consumed.