Reclining Male Nude, raised right Knee
- Artist: William Etty
- Date: 1815 - 1845
- Medium: oil on millboard
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the *Reclining Male Nude, raised right Knee* by William Etty, created somewhere between 1815 and 1845. Etty, a British painter famous for his large-scale nudes, chose the millboard support—a sturdy, inexpensive material that allowed him to work quickly and with confidence. The canvas is laid out in a generous rectangle, and the oil paints dry relatively fast, giving the artist a sense of immediacy in building form and light.
The figure lies with a relaxed posture, his right knee lifted slightly, creating a subtle diagonal that pulls the eye across the surface. Etty’s treatment of flesh is noteworthy: he captures the subtle variations of tone, from the warm flesh of the thighs to the cooler shadow under the ribs, all rendered with a soft, almost translucent glaze that evokes a sense of corporeal truth. The background is deliberately plain, which keeps our attention on the human form without distraction.
The period when Etty worked was one of experimentation with color and anatomy; he was influenced by the Dutch masters and the burgeoning Romantic interest in the human body. In this work you see his dedication to anatomical accuracy and his interest in the sensuality of the male form, presented with a modest yet confident compositional harmony.
See it in person
Reclining Male Nude, raised right Knee hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
