Seated Male Nude, Arms Uplifted

John Singer Sargent's Seated Male Nude, Arms Uplifted (1917/21) is a charcoal drawing with stumping on ivory laid paper. This figure study shows a seated male model with his arms raised above his head, a pose that allowed Sargent to study the articulation of the shoulders, chest, and arms. The charcoal technique is masterful, the figure modeled through subtle gradations of tone that create a sense of volume and presence. The stumping softens the transitions between light and shadow. The ivory laid paper provides a smooth, warm ground. This drawing belongs to the series of figure studies Sargent produced in connection with his mural projects for the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts. The pose with arms uplifted is one of strain and reaching, perhaps related to a figure in one of Sargent's mural compositions. This study demonstrates the academic discipline that underlay even the most brilliant of Sargent's finished works.

Sargent's mural studies represent a sustained engagement with the human figure that reveals the serious, academic foundation of his art.

This charcoal study of a seated nude with uplifted arms captures the strain and energy of the pose, Sargent's masterful modeling creating a figure of sculptural presence and expressive power.