Academiestudie naar een gips van een antiek beeld: detailstudie van een hand uit de Laocoön 1819 - 1881

This is a pencil drawing by Johannes Tavenraat, made in the Netherlands sometime in the first three-quarters of the 19th century. It’s a study of a plaster cast of a hand from the Laocoön sculpture. At this time, the art academy was the central institution in artistic training. The curriculum involved endless hours copying from casts of classical sculptures such as the Laocoön, a famous sculpture excavated in Rome in the early 16th century. Note the intense focus on the musculature of the hand, and the cross-hatching used to model the form. Tavenraat’s drawing illustrates the academic emphasis on anatomical accuracy and the classical ideal. By mastering these skills, artists could demonstrate their knowledge and skill, and gain entry into the art world. To understand this drawing fully, we’d need to research the curriculum of the art academy at that time. What were the prescribed methods of drawing? What was the status of the classical ideal? Art history can help us understand the social conditions that shaped artistic production.