ARTWORK: Pauline Azou, “Academic Study” – French/France, 1798. The work shows a handsome, athletic man with a Greco-Roman motif, holding a staff. The drawing shows his physique and the grandeur of the human form.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Pauline Auzou (24 March 1775 – 15 May 1835) was a French painter and art instructor, who prominently exhibited her works in the Paris Salon. She was a good friend of Napoleon and Empress Josephine, and produced a lot of works for them and their friends. Many of works of male academic studies, but she’s known for her portraits of the upper class and “working class” men. She was a teacher and studied in academic classes that were integrated (both male and female students), but also studied and later taught classes for women only. To paint the male nude, some schools would have special classes for women only. Others didn’t, at this time.
She faced a fair share of sexism, but triumphed in the end.
Kisses from PARIS!!!
OTHER WORKS:
