Academy figure

Sometimes simply called an academy, an academic figure is a two-dimensionally drawn or painted figure of a nude model, about half-size, typically used for instruction and not considered a work of art at the time it was made. Such life drawing or painting studies, demonstrating skill in idealistic or realistic representation of human anatomy, became standard exercises in art schools (academies) from the sixteenth century until late in the nineteenth century.Examples: French Painter, about 1816, Study of a Nude Man, oil on canvas, 31 3/4 x 25 1/4 inches (80.6 x 64.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. Ferdinand-Victor-Eug?ne Delacroix (French, 1798-1863), Male Academy Figure, probably Polonais, standing, 1821, black, white, and sanguine chalk (cont? crayon?), 17 5/8 x 22 3/4 inches (44.8 x 57.8 cm), private collection. See Romanticism.Also see ?corch? and scale.