Stehender Frauenakt, vom Rücken gesehen 

Editor: We're looking at Auguste Rodin's pencil drawing "Stehender Frauenakt, vom Rücken gesehen," or "Standing Female Nude, Seen From the Back" held here at the Städel Museum. It’s a delicate, almost ghostly image. I’m curious, what aspects of the composition do you find most compelling? Curator: The power resides primarily in Rodin's mastery of line. Notice how a few, assured strokes define the volume of the figure. There’s a strategic use of hatching to suggest depth, but he avoids creating hard edges. It is the dynamism, not the contour, that dictates the reading of form. How does that affect your perception? Editor: It’s interesting – the lack of clearly defined outlines does lend a sense of movement and fleeting observation, capturing the figure in media res. Do you think he's consciously playing with academic traditions? Curator: Precisely. He draws from the academic tradition of nude studies, but the emphasis shifts from idealized form to an exploration of the raw materiality of the figure. Note the strategic use of negative space. The body emerges from the paper; the blankness is just as critical as the drawn mark in realizing the sculpture’s impact on the eye. The effect, thus, generates an ongoing act, rather than fixing any ideal notion. Editor: That makes a lot of sense. Seeing it this way, it’s not just a drawing, but a study of form emerging. Thank you! Curator: Indeed! The constant tension and potential. An exquisite insight into Rodin's working method.