Behold the Boy 1907

Medardo Rosso, an Italian sculptor working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, created this artwork. The wax sculpture challenges traditional artistic conventions in its representation of childhood and identity. Rosso's artistic milieu was one of significant social change. Rapid industrialization across Europe and evolving perceptions of children influenced his aesthetic approach. Consider the lack of distinct features; Behold the Boy departs from classical, idealized portraiture. Instead, Rosso captures a fleeting, impressionistic moment. The androgynous presentation of the child complicates established gender norms. Rosso was interested in the experience of seeing, once commenting that "Nothing is material...what is material to you is also nothing, it’s only the sensation, the eye that registers on our retina." The artwork raises questions about how we perceive and construct identity. Rosso invites us to consider the fluidity and complexity of selfhood. What does it mean to truly see, and what biases do we bring to that act?