Two Studies of a Reclining Man
ca. 1903
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
11 13/16 × 17 3/16 in. (30 × 43.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Modern and Contemporary Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982
Accession Number
1984.433.240ab
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 1900s, as Wilhelm Lehmbruck honed his skills at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine, he produced *Two Studies of a Reining Man* (ca. 1903), a delicate graphite drawing on paper measuring 11 1316 × 17 3/16 inches. This captures the artist's emerging focus on the male nude, a staple of academic training that allowed exploration of human anatomy and form. Lehmbruck, who would later become a pivotal figure in German Expressionism through his elongated, emotive sculptures, here demonstrates a classical precision in rendering the reclining figure from multiple angles. Graphite's subtle tona...
About the Artist
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1881–1919) was a German sculptor whose elongated, melancholic figures rank among the most moving works produced by European Expressionism. Born in Duisburg-Meiderich into a working-class family, Lehmbruck studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Düsseldorf and later at the Düsseldorf Academy, where he mastered the academic tradition before pushing beyond it toward a more pers...