Painting in 18th-century France was centered on the Acade'mie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris, where the drawing of the male human figure was at the core of the curriculum. Only after mastering the copying of drawings and engravings, and then casts of antique sculptures, would the student be allowed to progress to drawing the nude figure in the life class. The drawings produced there were so associated with the Academy that they came to be known as 'académies'. Accompanying a groundbreaking exhibition at the Wallace Collection, this publication includes remarkable drawings by Rigaud, Boucher, Nattier, Pierre, Carle van Loo, Gros and Jean-Baptiste Isabey. Variety and beauty are omnipresent. The works show figures - sometimes single, sometimes two together - in an enormous variety of poses and in various degrees of light and shade. Exhibition: Wallace Collection, London, UK (24.10.2013-19.1.2014).