Seated Woman Seen from the Back 1874

Curator: This is Mariano Fortuny Marsal's "Seated Woman Seen from the Back," a small pencil sketch in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s delicate, almost ephemeral. The tentative lines create a sense of quiet introspection. Curator: Absolutely, the composition uses implied lines and shading to define form, almost as if the subject is emerging from the paper itself. The back, a traditional symbol of vulnerability and anonymity... Editor: ...or perhaps of focused solitude? There's a long history of women depicted from behind, suggesting a sense of mystery and the unknowable female experience. Curator: Interesting. Considering the texture and form, Fortuny seems more interested in the play of light across the figure. There’s a dynamic contrast between the detailed rendering of the clothing and the hazier treatment of her head. Editor: Yes, a contrast between the material and the ethereal. It gives the piece an emotional depth that belies its size. I'm left with a feeling of gentle melancholy. Curator: A compelling interplay between surface and depth, indeed.