Nøgen mandsfigur med drikkehorn, stående med det ene ben på søjle el. lign. 1731 - 1802

This pen and brown ink drawing was made by Johannes Wiedewelt in the 18th century. Wiedewelt lived during a time of shifting cultural values, as the rigid social structures of the old aristocracy began to give way to the ideals of the Enlightenment, with its emphasis on reason, individualism, and a renewed interest in classical antiquity. In this drawing, Wiedewelt sketches a nude male figure drinking from a horn, elevated on a pedestal. The body, while nude, is idealized, its musculature rendered with classical precision. Yet the man’s act of drinking introduces a narrative element which can be interpreted in multiple ways. Is the man celebrating a victory, or is he simply indulging in earthly pleasures? The elevation of the figure on a column suggests a claim to power and authority, yet his nudity and the act of drinking might also be seen as challenging the conventions of aristocratic portraiture. The drawing captures a moment of ambiguity, somewhere between the classical and the contemporary.