The Rivals 

Franz von Stuck made this drawing, The Rivals, with graphite and wash on paper. Stuck was working in Germany in the late 19th and early 20th century, a period in which artists were looking to the past for inspiration and often imbuing their work with a sense of drama. The centaurs battling in this drawing hark back to classical mythology, which was a popular subject in the art academies of the time. Stuck was part of a movement that challenged academic conservatism by reviving mythological and allegorical subjects with modern psychological insight. Here, we see the clash of primal instincts. The centaurs, mythical creatures half-man and half-horse, fight each other to win the maiden. The dark and moody atmosphere adds a sense of drama to the competition, suggesting a certain critique of social conventions. To understand the power of an artwork like this, the historian can look into sources from mythology, classical literature, and accounts of academic conventions and artistic movements. This will help us understand better the changing views about gender and sexuality in the cultural context of the period.