EARLY NUDES

 

Interest in the naked figure took different forms. From mid-fifteenth century on, all Italian apprentices were made to do regular drawings of the male body from life and two-and three-dimensional models. Leonardo advocated that on winter evenings, young artists should study all the nudes they had drawn in summer - when it was warm enough for their subjects to stand naked - correcting their efforts during the following year. The practice of drawing the female nude in Italy seems to have started much later, well after the turn of the 16th century.

 
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Maso Finiguerra, A Warrior Subduing Another (Recto), 1460-64, pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk or leadpoint, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Maso Finiguerra, A Warrior Subduing Another (Recto), 1460-64, pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk or leadpoint, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This drawing, attributed to the Florentine Maso Finiguerra, is evidence that young artists practiced drawing models in a variety of poses. This type of drawing would become more common from the 1470s onwards.

Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Three Naked Men, early 1470s, pen and brown ink, Paris, Musée du Louvre.
Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Three Naked Men, early 1470s, pen and brown ink, Paris, Musée du Louvre.

Pollaiuolo’s sculptural drawings of male nudes were copied by artists all over Europe. This one presents three views of an archetypal body which could be used to assemble the perfect whole.

Andrea Mantegna, Man Laying on a Stone Slab, ca. 1475-85, pen and brown ink, London, British Museum.
Andrea Mantegna, Man Laying on a Stone Slab, ca. 1475-85, pen and brown ink, London, British Museum.
Francesco del Cossa, Saint Sebastian, late 15th century, pen and brown ink, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Francesco del Cossa, Saint Sebastian, late 15th century, pen and brown ink, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The pose of Saint Sebastian, his sculptural form, and the winding path behind him derive from a painting of same subject by Mantegna who exercised considerable influence on many younger artists in this period.

Filippino Lippi, Standing Youth with Hands behind his Back, and Seated Youth Reading, ca. 1482-83, metalpoint, highlighted with white gouache, on prepared paper, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Filippino Lippi, Standing Youth with Hands behind his Back, and Seated Youth Reading, ca. 1482-83, metalpoint, highlighted with white gouache, on prepared paper, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Giovanni Bellini, Lamentation over the Body of Christ, before 1510, pen and sepia ink on paper, Paris, Musée du Louvre.
Giovanni Bellini, Lamentation over the Body of Christ, before 1510, pen and sepia ink on paper, Paris, Musée du Louvre.

Giovanni was the Venetian brother-in-law of Mantegna. He made many drawings of the Lamentation; in this one, strongly defined hatching is used not only to create deep shadows modelling the central figures but also to heighten the pathos and drama of the subject.

Raphael, Leda and the Swan, ca. 1507, pen and ink over black chalk underdrawing, Windsor, Royal Collection. i.
Raphael, Leda and the Swan, ca. 1507, pen and ink over black chalk underdrawing, Windsor, Royal Collection. i.

It wasn’t until the the early 16th century that studies of naked female bodies began to be produced. Even then, they were probably made to get accurate depictions for specific works rather than as part of the study of the ideal human body which was associated only with the male nude.