Photography by Dwight Primiano
Male Nude from Behind
Artists train by drawing naked people to help understand the form, or shape, of the body. This practice is called life drawing. Both Vanderlyn and Trumbull studied in Europe where it was a more common practice to draw from a naked model. In the American colonies, nudity was viewed as indecent and sensual, a societal convention that continues to inspire blushing and giggling around nudes in art today.
ArtistJohn Trumbull(1756-1843)
Dateca. 1798
MediumChalk, charcoal, and graphite on blue paper
Dimensions38 1/2 x 30 3/4 x 2 in. (97.8 x 78.1 x 5.1 cm)
Inscription(s)recto, l.c.: Drawing by Trumbull
verso: Drawing by John Trumbull / Purchased by C.A. III (?) 1896 From the B. (?) Collection [indistinct]
verso, u.c., numbered and circled: 112
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, Gift of John Driscoll, 2007.174
ClassificationDrawing
ProvenanceBenjamin Silliman (nephew-in-law of the artist); by descent through the Silliman Family; Charles Allen Munn, Philadelphia, PA, 1896; Mrs. I. Sheldon Tilney (his niece); Mrs. Percy Chubb; to The Estate of Mrs. Percy Chubb; (Marvin Sadik Fine Arts, Inc., Scarborough, ME); John Driscoll, New York, NY; to (Babcock Galleries, New York, NY); given to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2007
On ViewYes
This artwork's face covers about 162× the area of a tennis ball.Drawn to the same scale.
