In France, as in Italy, the Academic tradition persisted
through most of the
nineteenth century. Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, long after he had
achieved fame as a
painter, insisted on the need to periodically refresh his skills in
sketching nudes--male
or female. His Study
of a Male Nude
shows a typical
academy pose, with
the body twisted, and the model able to keep his muscular arm upraised
by clutching a rope.
On the other hand, Hippolyte Flandrin never made it as a
world- renowned
artist. For lack of other inspiration, he worked some of his
finest student
sketches into finished paintings. He might, for instance,
slap on a title such as Priam's
Son, Polytes, Observing the Greeks Approaching Troy. Never mind that the model
seems too relaxed for such a momentous event. Famous
artists including David, Gericault, and Ingres had occasionally reworked their life
drawings, too.