En yngling. Stående nøgen mand, der ser på sin højre fodsål 1889

Carl Aarsleff created this bronze sculpture, "En yngling. Stående nøgen mand, der ser på sin højre fodsål", which translates to "A youth. Standing naked man, looking at the sole of his right foot", towards the end of the 19th century. During Aarsleff’s time, the male nude was a classical reference to idealized beauty, strength, and youth. But here, instead of a heroic pose, we see a boy caught in a moment of private contemplation. Aarsleff renders the figure with a delicate naturalism. However, in shifting away from the heroic, and towards the everyday, Aarsleff perhaps offers us a glimpse into the vulnerabilities and self-awareness of adolescence. What does it mean to represent a young male body not as a symbol of power, but as an individual, self-absorbed and perhaps even insecure? Aarsleff asks us to consider the emotional interiority of his subject.