Male - Academic nude Study posed as a Sculptor1847 Accession number: 1906P709 Chalk with grey wash on paper. Width: 174 mm Height: 387 mm InformationIn 1847 Ford Madox Brown attended life-classes run by his friend and fellow artist Charles Lucy (1814-73) and held in Lucy's studio at Tudor Lodge in Mornington Crescent, Camden Town, London. This house contained several artists' studios including one used for a short time by Brown. He also went to the Dickinson Brothers Drawing Academy at 18 1/2 Maddox Street, London where Lucy was employed as a drawing master. The exact date that the Academy opened is not known but it was advertised in the 'Illustrated London News' on 15 January 1848 'for the study of Painting and Sculpture, and Preparatory for the Royal Academy.' As Virginia Surtees notes the Academy was open to professional artists four evenings a week from 7pm to 10pm for life study and held ladies classes in the daytime ('The Diary of Ford Madox Brown,' p. 15). This drawing is one of four in the collection likely to have been drawn during a class at Tudor Lodge or the Dickinsons' academy. Together they show the range of poses set by the instructor to show off the muscular bodies of the models and liken the men to classical idols. Working class men were sought for these models as their strenuous jobs provided them with toned bodies resembling classical sculptures. Props were often used to aid poses and add interest at nineteenth century life drawing classes. Here the model holds a chisel and hammer, feigning the pose of an ancient sculptor, a slightly witty pose as he becomes both artist and model. This drawing shows off his skills as a draftsman and his subtle use of chalk and grey wash adds shading and depth to the figure.LM This drawing was probably made at one of the life classes run by Brown's friend and fellow artist Charles Lucy (1814-1873), although at this same period he also studied at another drawing academy in London. It reveals Brown as a highly accomplished draughtsman using the nude male model as a subject for study and information. The pose, while perhaps faintly risible today, had a more serious purpose - to show off the muscled body and also to relate the subject to classical sculpture. Professional artists' models were employed at London Art Schools in the nineteenth century. Models of both sexes were used for life drawing classes although debate about the use of female models continued throughout the century. In 1847 Ford Madox Brown attended life classes run by his artist friend Charles Lucy (1814-73) and held in Lucy's studio at Tudor Lodge in Mornington Crescent, Camden Town, London. He also went to the Dickinson Brothers Drawing Academy at 18 1/2 Maddox Street, London. The exact date that the Academy opened is not known but it was advertised in the Illustrated London News on 15 January 1848 as "for the study of Painting and Sculpture, and Preparatory for the Royal Academy." As Virginia Surtees notes the Academy was open four evenings a week from 7pm to 10pm for life study. Lucy was employed at this academy as a drawing master and 'professional artists attended evening and early morning life classes at either end of the working day.' This drawing, dated 1847, and several others in Birmingham's collection are likely to have been drawn during one of the classes either at Tudor Lodge or Maddox Street. They show the range of poses set by the instructor to show off the muscular bodies of the models and liken the men to classical idols. Working class men were sought for these models as their strenuous jobs provided them with toned bodies resembling classical sculptures. Props were often used to aid poses and add interest. Here the model holds a chisel and hammer, feigning the pose of an ancient sculptor, a slightly witty pose as the man becomes both artist and model. The instruments he holds make a balanced composition. Holding the chisel shows off the model's arm muscles and the position of the hammer highlights the model's buttock.
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