Studie van een mannelijk naaktmodel, zittend met het hoofd in de knieën, van opzij gezien

Curled up with his head between his knees, the nude man in this photographic study sits in profile atop a fabric-covered platform. This work is from a notebook of reference photographs owned by Brussels sculptor Jacques de Lalaing (1858-1917). This albumen print photograph was likely taken by Italian photographer Gaudenzio Marconi, circa 1870-1885. Living models were not always accessible to students, so Marconi made a living by selling his académies (photographic figure studies) to art students at the prestigious École des beaux-arts (School of Fine Arts) in Paris. Lalaing and other sculptors would have used photographs like this as a reference for sculpture.