Reclining Female Nude c. 1920

Abraham Levinson made this drawing of a reclining nude, using pencil and watercolor on paper. I love the casualness of it. You can see the light touch of the hand in the thin washes of color. I imagine Levinson quickly sketching, trying to capture something fleeting. The blue shadows feel so modern against the warm flesh tones. There’s a vulnerability to the figure, a sense of introspection. Look at the way the body is slightly twisted; the gesture of the hand cradling the head. It reminds me of other artists who were exploring the nude at the time, like Matisse or even some of the Ashcan School painters. It’s like he’s in conversation with them, thinking about form, light, and the human body. We are lucky to be party to their on-going exchange of ideas.