Staand mannelijk naakt, naar rechts 1819 - 1881

This is Johannes Tavenraat's "Standing Male Nude, to the Right," a pencil drawing at the Rijksmuseum. The study presents a male figure poised dynamically, his body a play of angles and muscular tension. The drawing captures the human form with a focus on anatomical accuracy, rendered through a delicate and precise use of line and shading. The figure's stance creates a network of formal relationships: the thrust of the arm extended to the right is balanced by the backward reach of the opposite arm, creating a diagonal pull across the torso. Tavenraat's structural approach is evident in how he uses light and shadow to define the volumes of the body, lending the figure a sculptural quality. The overall effect is less about the individual's personality, and more about the universal ideal of the male form. In its emphasis on structure and composition, the drawing invites us to reflect on the ways the human body has been interpreted and represented through art history.