Landscape with Resting Shepherd 

Johann Wilhelm Becker made this oil on canvas painting called 'Study of a Hand' sometime in the late 18th century. This painting gives us a glimpse into the academic practices of the time. In 18th century Europe, the art world was governed by academies that set standards and expectations for artists. A key tenet of academic art was the study of the human form as a foundation for painting narrative scenes from history, mythology, and the Bible. Aspiring artists would begin by drawing plaster casts of classical sculptures, and then would work their way up to studying live models. 'Study of a Hand' would have been part of this rigorous process. The painting would have been informed by the burgeoning fields of medicine and science, as well as the revival of classical antiquity. To learn more, you could investigate the curriculum of the Frankfurt academy, and study similar paintings by Becker’s contemporaries. What we see in this small painting is, therefore, a moment in the history of art education.