by-nc

Nu, vu de dos (Nude woman seen from the rear)

Maker

(artist)
1861-1944

Title

Nu, vu de dos (Nude woman seen from the rear)

Date of Production

1920-1924

Medium

graphite on wove paper (now discoloured in pictorial area)

Dimensions

Height: 34 cm
Width: 23 cm

Accession Number

D.1935.SC.44

Mode of Acquisition

Samuel Courtauld, gift, 1935

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords






Label Text

Maillol’s interest in depicting the nude seen from the back is evident from numerous drawings and pastels, such as this. He was especially attentive to the structure of the pelvis and upper thighs and the strength of the upper torso, which he captures here with characteristic simplicity of line. Maillol often made no attempt at defining facial features and concealed or effaced the figure’s arms. He once wrote: ‘details don’t interest me…I am seeking beauty, not character.’

Provenance

Leicester Galleries (London); purchased there by Samuel Courtauld, London (1876-1947), 1928; Courtauld Gift 1935

Exhibition History

Special Display - Picasso, Matisse, Maillol: The Female Model, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 24/01/2013-26/05/2013

The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 14/06/1998-21/09/1998

Impressionism for England - Samuel Courtauld as Patron and
Collector
, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 16/06/1994-25/09/1994 ...More

Drawings and Engravings from the Courtauld Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, December 1959-April 1960

Samuel Courtauld memorial exhibition, Tate Gallery, London, 1948 ...Less

Literature

The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1998
cat. no. 74
illus. p. 133

John House, Impressionism for England: Samuel Courtauld as Patron and Collector, Courtauld Institute Galleries 1994
no. 100
illus. p. 216

Cooper, Douglas, The Courtauld Collection, London 1954
no. 138

Inscriptions

Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower right, graphite, signed with the artist’s initial in a circle: “M”; lower left corner, graphite: “OP”; lower right corner, graphite: “100”. Verso: upper centre, graphite, large and circled: “B”; right lower edge, graphite: “Frauen [?]”.

Collector's mark: none.

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