Seated Male Nude, Frontal View (recto)Seated Female Nude (verso)
- 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 Seated Male Nude, Frontal View (recto)Seated Female Nude (verso) by William Etty. Etty, a 19th‑century English painter, is famous for his bold studies of the human body, and this diptych is a textbook example of his commitment to anatomical accuracy and dramatic lighting.
The work dates from the period 1815–1845, a time when Etty was pushing the boundaries of Victorian taste by depicting unclothed figures with a level of realism that was rare in Britain. Oil on millboard gives the painting a subtle, almost translucent surface that lets the flesh tones glisten without the heavy impasto typical of some contemporaries.
On the recto, the male figure sits in a relaxed pose, his torso rendered with careful shading that highlights muscle and bone. The verso mirrors him with a female counterpart, whose softer contours and gentle curve balance the composition. The two halves play off each other – the masculine tension of the man against the tender femininity of the woman – creating a dialogue about form and proportion.
Etty’s technique here – the use of chiaroscuro, the restrained palette, and the direct, almost clinical observation – shows why he remains a pivotal figure in the history of figurative art.
See it in person
Seated Male Nude, Frontal View (recto)Seated Female Nude (verso) 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.
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