Academic Study Of Two Feet From Antique Plaster Models, C. 1870, 50 × 32 Cm

Academic Study of Two Feet from Antique Plaster Models, c. 1870

Pencil on paper, 50 × 32 cm

Mid-19th-century academic exercise representing two studies of feet taken from plaster casts after antique sculpture. The sheet combines a more finished rendering with a second, lightly outlined sketch, reflecting the pedagogical practice of observing the same model from different angles and levels of completion.

Drawings of feet were a fundamental part of academic training in the 19th century, especially in Tuscan ateliers, where students learned proportion, weight, and anatomical construction by copying antique fragments in plaster. The modelling, the soft transitions of light, and the attention to the structure of the toes and instep show a solid understanding of classical form.

From one of the two large portfolios discovered in an old Tuscan property, containing academic studies and exercises produced between the 18th century and the early 20th century.

Paper with light studio traces appropriate to its use.