Worker
This energetic sketch by Fernand Cormon captures a laborer in profile, rendered with quick, scratchy lines that give the figure a sense of rugged movement. Notice the thin vertical line running straight through the man—this is a classic academic technique used to check proportions and alignment, essentially a grid for the artist's eye. Cormon was a legendary teacher whose Paris studio hosted rebellious students like Vincent van Gogh and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, making this rigorous study a fascinating glimpse into the traditional training that even the wildest avant-garde artists had to endure.