Standing Nude

Standing Nude is a seminal early work by Amedeo Modigliani, executed in 1910. This preparatory drawing, rendered in graphite on white paper, marks a transitional phase in the artist’s development as he moved toward the formal simplification that would define his mature style. Classified specifically as a life drawing, the work reflects Modigliani’s rigorous academic training and his ongoing exploration of the human form.

The subject is a robust male nude, captured through a sensitive and confident application of line. Unlike the highly stylized figures that would characterize his later paintings, the representation here retains a naturalistic weight and mass, focusing on the musculature and the classical contrapposto pose. Modigliani used the fine graphite medium skillfully, employing subtle hatching and economical shading to define volume against the white ground, yet maintaining a powerful graphic clarity typical of his early figure studies.

This piece serves as a critical document of Modigliani's synthesis of techniques drawn from both Renaissance masters and contemporary early-modern practices. His sustained study of male nudes during this period in Paris allowed him to rapidly develop the structural language essential for his subsequent success in painting and sculpture. The drawing is held in the distinguished collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. High-quality prints and academic studies related to this important work are widely available through resources referencing collections now entering the public domain.