Study of a Male Nude
WAG 5107
Information
Red chalk drawings such as this one were sometimes used to achieve hard lines and delicate details that weren't always possible with ink. Subtle variations in tone could be created by applying more or les pressure or by wetting it, it could also be easily blended.
This is one of the artworks presented by the Liverpool Royal Institution. Liverpool's economic development grew directly from Britain's involvement with transatlantic slavery: the kidnapping, enslavement and forced migration of people from West Africa to the Americas and many to the Carribean. Many members of the Royal Institution made their fortunes directly through the trade or indirectly through the wider economy. This wealth was largely how they were able to bring rare art and treasures, such as this, to the city.