Two Standing Male Nudes is in the Leeds Museum and Gallery where it is described as a painting and not a study. William Etty garnered some prudish criticism for his undraped nudes of both men and women, so we might think the draping here was to mollify that. Look closer, however, and you'll see that the men's packages are visible anyway. Was this a wry criticism of the critics?
The use of drapery is odd. Often barely covering the "offending" bits. Magically attaching to obscure the "bits". Or, much better, as a cloak, to contrast the flesh tones. For me, these just draw attention to the "area".
ReplyDeleteGood points all around . . . and I'm still puzzled, lol.
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