Back of a Nude Woman (Femme nue de dos)
Aristide Maillol
French, 1861–1944
(1924)
A lithograph by Aristide Maillol depicting a nude woman's back, intended to distill the body into calm, classical volumes through simple, measured drawing.
What strikes you is the economy of line and soft ochre hatching—one flowing contour and sparing shading that render shoulders, spine, and hips with a quiet, sculptural presence.
Maillol's pared-down, sculptural treatment of the figure helped move early 20th-century art toward modernist concerns with volume and monumentality, influencing both printmaking and sculpture.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
composition: 11 1/4 x 4 1/8" (28.6 x 10.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Accession
405.1940
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
