Nude with Her Hands Raised c. 1928 - 1934

"Nude with Her Hands Raised" is rendered in ink on paper by Gaston Lachaise. Look how Lachaise allows the figure to emerge from a single line. I feel for the artist who is trying to work out what a body is, through the movement of line. What kind of movement would it take to make this drawing? I can imagine Lachaise trying to follow and find the form with a kind of searching, tender, pressure. I see a kind of freedom and looseness here, like the drawing is performing an action. The raised hands, that simple and direct gesture, communicate a feeling of openness and vulnerability, maybe even a little defiance? In this act of drawing, Lachaise reminds us that art making is about seeing and feeling and embodying.