Stretching Figure
Auguste Rodin
French, 1840–1917
c. 1900-1906
A fluid watercolor and pencil study by Auguste Rodin that uses a warm ochre wash and quick graphite lines to record a stretched, reclining nude and to explore the body's movement and volume.
What first strikes you is the sinuous S‑curve of the figure—outlined with economical pencil and filled with a translucent brown wash—whose loose, almost unfinished marks and marginal scribbles convey the immediacy of a working sketch.
Although best known as a sculptor, Rodin's drawings like this one translate three‑dimensional thinking into expressive line and color, helping to reshape modern approaches to capturing the human body.
Medium
Watercolor and pencil on paper
Dimensions
13 x 9 3/4" (33.0 x 24.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Bequest of Mina Turner
Accession
254.1976
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
