Nude Study for a Figure of an Italian in the Painting ‘The Upbringing of Sigismund Augustus’ 1861

Józef Simmler made this nude study in pencil, as preparation for his painting ‘The Upbringing of Sigismund Augustus’. The painting’s Italian figure indicates the importance of the Italian Renaissance for Polish culture. Simmler lived in partitioned Poland. Polish artists looked to the past to create nationalist sentiments and affirm Polish cultural identity. Historical paintings that depicted significant events, figures, or cultural achievements in Polish history were displayed in art exhibitions, museums, and public spaces, solidifying national consciousness. Simmler studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden, and later in Munich and Paris. Academies prescribed the study of the nude to teach aspiring artists how to depict the human form realistically. Through his academic training and historical painting, Simmler’s art contributed to the construction of Polish national identity. To understand this work further, one might research the history of Polish nationalism, art academies in the 19th century, and exhibition culture. Considering these factors, we can better understand how art and institutions were linked to the social and political context in which Simmler lived.