Male Nudes Exhibition - The Wallace Collection

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Event: 24/10/2013 - 19/01/2014

Eighteenth-Century Drawings from the Paris Academy

Francois Boucher, 'Study of a Man Lying Down', 1739

The Wallace Collection in Hertford House has one of the most extensive collections of French artwork in Britain, including artists such as Rigaud, Boucher, Nattier, Carle van Loo, Gros, and Jean-Baptiste Isabey. But because the Hertford family never collected historical academic works, there has always been one thing missing. Until now. They have recently acquired pieces from the Paris Academy, featuring nearly forty drawings of male nudes produced between the seventeenth and eighteenth century. These life studies are an important part of pre-revolution art, because it shows how apprenticeship painters and sculptors were trained at the academy. Most were taught about perfecting the human figure through the study of the male body. It was only after they had mastered these techniques that artists were allowed to move on to sculpting the human form.

Since female models were strictly prohibited, artists were either faced with imperfect female sculptures or left to seek out less respectable models to practice drawing.

The Male Nudes exhibition is free to visit and will be open until the 19th January 2014. There will be a number of free talks and lectures in relation to the exhibit, and are suitable for all ages.

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