Minneapolis Institute of Art

Reclining Female Nude

Henri Laurens

Date

1924

Medium

Gouache on white ground (painted board) with lines etched in gouache.

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Sculptor Henri Laurens followed his close friend Georges Braque in the pursuit of Cubism and increasingly devoted himself to depictions of reclining female nudes. This painted and scratched drawing is full of tension and ambiguity. Though the image resembles a solid block of stone carved in relief, the angular zones of color seem to move and change. Which planes are closer or farther from us? Is the white triangle in relief; is it transparent? Is the woman emerging from the block, or is it consuming her? France, Europe

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.