Muskeln ("Muscles"), by Osmar Schindler, 1907

Osmar Schindler (22 December 1869, Burkhardtsdorf - 19 June 1927, Dresden), German painter belonging to the Dresden Academy school of artists. His work was varied, including landscapes, portraits, historical and figurative scenes, and contributions to interior settings. His later work, especially, was aligned with the Art Nouveau movement.

He lost his father at an early age, but with the help of an uncle, he was able to attend the Kunstakademie Dresden. He later traveled throughout Europe for several years, but returned to Dresden and in 1900 was appointed professor of the Kunstakademie, where he had several students who would later become famous in their own right, including George Grosz. He died at the age of fifty-eight.

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I find this a very interesting piece, beautifully realized and humorous in equal measure. And a little disquieting; outside of pornography, images of men pondering the naked flesh of other men are fairly rare. Here, the painting of art students marveling at the model's physique is no doubt completely innocent, but given the voluptuous flesh and the fascinated gaze, it can't help but be inherently erotic.

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The painting is also strongly reminiscent of a photograph I blogged about earlier this year.