Kneeling male nude for ‘Kiss of the Sphinx’ before 1895

Franz von Stuck created this preparatory drawing for his painting ‘Kiss of the Sphinx’, sometime around the turn of the 20th century. In the drawing, a nude man kneels, his head thrown back, arms reaching upwards in a gesture of either supplication or desperation. Stuck was a central figure in the Symbolist movement, which explored themes of death, sexuality, and psychological states. In this drawing, we see a convergence of those ideas. The artist uses the male nude not just as an object of aesthetic beauty, but to convey intense emotional and psychological vulnerability. The posture of the figure evokes a sense of surrender, yet the muscularity of the body hints at a struggle, perhaps with fate, desire, or even death itself. Stuck was interested in the power dynamics between men and women, and these themes appear in his work frequently. This drawing gives us a glimpse into Stuck's creative process and reflects a broader cultural obsession with the darker aspects of human experience. The artist doesn’t shy away from difficult emotions, inviting us to confront them in ourselves.