Standing Male Nude, Front View

Clarence Gagnon first studied drawing with Ludger Larose, then took classes in freehand drawing at the Monument National under the tutelage of Edmond Dyonnet. He was a student of William Brymner at the art school of the Art Association of Montreal (AAM) from 1899 to 1902. In 1901, he shared the first prize in its life drawing competition with a study of a male model that he gave to the Museum. The sketch in red chalk shown here stands out for the model’s total nudity. It was probably executed in Paris while the artist was continuing his studies under Jean-Paul Laurens at the Académie Julian. The hatching of the figure’s forms attests to Gagnon’s remarkable talent as an engraver, which would earn him an international reputation.