Standing Nude Youth, with right arm raised 1859 - 1860

Edgar Degas created this graphite drawing, Standing Nude Youth, with right arm raised, on a sheet of paper. Degas was a figure of the French bourgeoisie, and while he broke with academic tradition, he was nonetheless deeply invested in the Western art historical canon. The male nude has, of course, a long and storied tradition in Western art. Degas, however, brings to it a quality of the sketch, of the accidental. Here, the body is decidedly un-idealized. The pose is also notable; the figure, neither reclining nor standing to attention, raises his right arm. But what is he reaching for? This ambiguous gesture asks us to consider the relationship between the body, desire, and agency. Does the sketch resist the traditional, heroic portrayal of the male nude? Perhaps, but by leaving this question unanswered, Degas invites us to continue the conversation.