Zittend mannelijk naakt, de hand op het handvat van een vaas 1763 - 1800

Jacobus Johannes Lauwers created this drawing, a nude man seated with a vase, in the late 18th century. The drawing's composition is immediately striking: a male nude dominates the foreground, his back turned, drawing our eye across the expanse of his skin. This area subtly shifts from light to shadow. Lauwers uses a classical visual language that is seen in the seated man crowned with leaves and the motif of the vase which alludes to ancient Greek and Roman art. The curve of the sitter's body echoes the rounded forms of the cherubic figures and vase behind him creating a unified sense of space. The careful arrangement and interplay of the figures and forms is used to convey a sense of harmony and idealized beauty. This is a drawing that encapsulates a moment of contemplation and the appreciation of aesthetic form which continues to resonate today.