Study of the male nude 

Jozef Hanula made this red chalk study of the male nude at some point during his life, which spanned from 1863 to 1944. Nude studies like this were common exercises in academic art training of the time. Art schools shaped artists' vision through rigorous study of classical forms, and of the human body. These institutions were often socially conservative, reinforcing existing power structures. Hanula was Slovak, and we can understand his art better by researching the educational and political conditions in Slovakia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Was he trained in Slovakia, or did he study abroad, perhaps influenced by the Vienna Secession? Did he produce artworks that commented on the social structures of his time? Did he critique the institutions of art? By exploring the institutional and social context of Hanula's art, we can gain a richer understanding of its meaning and significance.