Standing Youth, Looking Up
1820–71
Medium
Pencil on wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 12 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (31.8 x 14 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Charles and Jessie Price Gift, 2004
Accession Number
2004.103
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Standing Youth, Looking Up** by Otto Speck (1807–1871) is a delicate pencil drawing on wove paper, capturing a moment of quiet introspection. Created during the artist's active years in 19th-century Germany, this intimately scaled work—measuring just 12½ x 5½ inches—showcases Speckter's skill in rendering human form with subtle line work. The smooth texture of wove paper, popular in the Romantic era, allowed for precise shading and fluid contours, making it ideal for studies like this one. Speckter, associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting, often explored everyday figures and emoti...