Nude sitting 1975

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this drawing, Nude Sitting, sometime in the 20th century, probably with graphite on paper. The lines are so simple, almost childlike, yet they capture the essence of the figure, like a memory of a body rather than a real one. I'm intrigued by the line of the breast, it has this gorgeous, almost cartoonish quality that reminds me of Guston. There's this push and pull between flatness and depth. The lines are confident, but they don't try to trick you into thinking this is a photograph. It's a drawing, pure and simple, and it embraces that. The model's hand, gently resting on her chest, is so tender and delicate. It's like the whole drawing is a whisper. This piece reminds me of Matisse's line drawings, that same sense of capturing form with as little information as possible. It is a reminder that art is always in conversation with itself.