Man's Fortitude 1771 - 1829

Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein created this drawing, titled "Man's Fortitude," using pen and gray ink with gray wash over graphite. This piece evokes classical antiquity, a period prized by European elites in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when Tischbein was active. It presents a vision of masculinity rooted in strength and control over the natural world. We see a man, nude, astride a horse, holding a spear, and accompanied by hunting dogs and a vanquished lion. It's worth considering this image within the context of the art academies of the time, institutions that codified artistic taste and perpetuated social hierarchies. These academies, which were dominant in Europe, promoted the idea of art that was rational, orderly, and morally uplifting. To understand an artwork such as this, we need to know the institutional histories that shaped its creation and reception. Looking into the artist’s biography or the publications of the period will help us to better understand the social world that made it possible.