Voorovergebogen zittend mannelijk naakt (2e prijs 1806) Possibly 1806

Editor: This is "Voorovergebogen zittend mannelijk naakt (2e prijs 1806)", or "Bent Over Seated Male Nude (2nd prize 1806)", possibly from 1806, by Johan Christiaan Willem Safft, done in charcoal. The figure is positioned in such a way that I am reminded of Rodin’s "Thinker." What do you see in this piece? Curator: The comparison to "The Thinker" is astute. There’s that same air of contemplation, though tinged, perhaps, with a hint of…exhaustion? The muted charcoal adds to that feeling, softening the muscles, muting any sense of heroic dynamism that was popular at the time. Safft's Neoclassicism is academic. The model becomes less an idealized form, and more a man burdened by thought or simply the weight of existence, or the expectation to perform the ideal, maybe. Is it raw? Vulnerable? Editor: It feels a little sad, seeing him like this. The lack of background contributes to the starkness. It makes me wonder, what was it like to be an artist tasked with representing the ideal at that time? Curator: Exactly! And, in turn, what was it like to *be* the model, embodying those ideals, probably for hours, while someone observed and judged every line, curve, and shadow. What were his thoughts, dreams, anxieties? Editor: You’ve completely shifted my perspective. Now I'm more interested in the person sitting for the portrait, than the finished product itself. Thanks for making me see things differently. Curator: Art is so rarely about the final form. What makes it so enduring, and moving, I think, is imagining all of the layers of intention and, as you pointed out, personhood that get woven in along the way. That charcoal somehow captured so much!