Reclining Nude 

John Singer Sargent made this Reclining Nude with graphite on paper at an unknown date. Sargent was an American artist, but he spent much of his life in Europe, primarily in Paris and London. This artwork depicts a male nude in a reclining pose, a subject with a long history in Western art that dates back to classical antiquity. Nudity in art has often been used to convey ideas about beauty, heroism, and morality. In the late 19th century, when Sargent was working, the nude was a common subject in academic art, which was often produced in art schools and academies. These institutions played a key role in shaping artistic styles and tastes. Art historians often study the nude to learn more about changing attitudes toward the body and sexuality. We might look to writings by critics, artists, and social commentators to learn about the social norms of Sargent's time and the ways in which art both reflected and challenged those norms.