Two early 20th century German Secessionist male nude cornice drawings. Graphite on pale blue/grey wove drawing paper, spot glued by the artist to a buff wove support sheet (9 7/8 x 13 inches). Unsigned, from the artist's estate auction.
In Greek Mythology, Atlas and his brother Menoetius fought with the Titans in their war against the Olympians, the Titanomachy. When the Titans were defeated, many of them (including Menoetius) were confined to Tartarus, but Zeus condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of Gaia (the Earth) and hold up the sky on his shoulders, to prevent the two from resuming their primordial embrace. Thus, he was Atlas Telamon, "enduring Atlas," and became a doublet of Coeus, the embodiment of the celestial axis around which the heavens revolve.
