Reclining Nude 1922

Tsuguharu Foujita’s "Reclining Nude" seems to me like it was built with layers of thin paint, almost like washes, creating soft, muted tones that give the figure a gentle presence. I imagine Foujita contemplating how to capture the subtle gradations of light and shadow on the skin, trying to convey the weight and form of the body. The artist would have been walking a line between Japanese and Western traditions, and, like, how do you even do that? I bet he was thinking a lot about surface, flatness, and the overall composition as he was painting. The way he defined the contours with delicate lines, almost like a drawing, also gives the nude a serene, ethereal quality, and that flatness reminds me a little of Matisse. I suppose artists are always looking at each other’s work across time and place, and this dialogue is an ongoing exchange of ideas and approaches. The painting embraces ambiguity, doesn't it, and that encourages multiple interpretations.