Three standing nude men and the leg of a fourth, 1895,0915.628

These pen-and-ink studies focus on the musculature and physical tension of young men in various states of movement. The artist uses precise cross-hatching to define the volume of the bodies and the underlying skeletal structure. A partial leg on the right edge suggests the artist was working across the sheet to explore different anatomical positions.

This sheet contains studies for the group of students surrounding Euclid in Raphael’s 'School of Athens' in the Vatican. The work illustrates the Renaissance practice of 'disegno', where the study of the human body served as a gateway to understanding the mathematical and harmonious order of the universe as understood in Neoplatonic thought.