Standing Nude 1914

Max Klinger drew this Standing Nude in an unknown year using graphite and white chalk on brown paper. It is an exercise in a long tradition of classical figure drawing, but it also reflects new ideas about sexuality and the body circulating at the time in Germany. Although academic art institutions taught figure drawing as a fundamental skill, there was also growing interest in the nude body as a subject in its own right. Thinkers like Sigmund Freud were beginning to explore the role of sexuality in human psychology, while artists were challenging traditional notions of beauty and exploring the sensual and even grotesque aspects of the human form. Klinger seems to be investigating a new type of female form, one which does not necessarily aim for the smooth perfection of the academic nude. To understand this drawing, we can look at how Klinger and his contemporaries engaged with the nude figure and its social, cultural and political meanings. Through research in archives and libraries we can better understand the role of artistic institutions, and the challenges to them. The nude form tells us about changing ideas around gender and sexuality in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.