Schets van een been 1558 - 1612

Bernardino Poccetti made this sketch of a leg sometime between 1548 and 1612 using pen and brown ink, with red chalk. During the late Renaissance, anatomical studies were critical for artists striving to depict the human form with greater accuracy. But, this sketch hints at the complex politics of representation, particularly the male gaze that often objectifies the human body. Poccetti's focus on a single limb draws our attention not only to the details of musculature and form, but also to the power dynamics inherent in how bodies are viewed and represented. Consider how such studies might contribute to or challenge prevailing notions of beauty, gender, and power within the social context of the time. What stories do these fragmented representations tell?