Zittend mannelijk naakt, op de rug gezien (1e prijs 1790) Possibly 1790 - 1791

Derk Anthony van de Wart created this red chalk drawing of a seated male nude in 1790. The inscription ‘1e prijs’ or ‘1st prize’ suggests that the artwork was made within an institutional setting, most likely as an exercise at the Amsterdam Drawing Academy. Drawing academies played a vital role in shaping artistic taste and maintaining social norms in late eighteenth-century Europe. Life drawing was a central component of academic training, and the male nude was considered the ideal subject for learning about anatomy, proportion, and form. But the nude also came with cultural and political baggage. The male nude represented classical ideals of beauty and citizenship. At a time of revolution and social upheaval, it signaled a desire to uphold traditional values. To understand the place of this drawing in the cultural landscape of the Dutch Republic, we need to consider its institutional context. Records of the Amsterdam Drawing Academy will help us understand the political implications of its curriculum and the social background of its students.