Male Nude 1550

Bartolomeo Passerotti made this pen and brown ink drawing of a Male Nude in sixteenth-century Italy. Here we see an emphasis on the human form. The image creates meaning through visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations that were circulating at the time in the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (Academy of Art and Design), which was founded in Florence in 1563. The members thought that the artist should study the human body in order to improve their art. Drawing from life, and especially drawing male nudes, was central to the way art was taught in the academy. This academical method was influential in setting common standards of taste and technique. As historians, to understand this work better, we might look at the archives of the Accademia and similar art institutions. The meaning of this drawing is contingent on the social and institutional context in which it was made.