DISCOVERART

François Boucher

Male Academy with Wings

1745–50
red chalk on cream laid paper

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

Academically trained artists often practiced drawing live models. Called academies, these figure studies occasionally served as preparatory drawings for paintings. Some artists crafted their academies to appeal to collectors interested in contemplating technical skill and inventiveness. Boucher may have imaginatively given wings to this male nude, who does not appear in any known painting, to demonstrate his ingenuity by transforming the model into a mythological figure.

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