Liggende naakte vrouw in het bos 1848 - 1862

This is an undated monochrome print by Célestin Nanteuil entitled, Liggende naakte vrouw in het bos, or Reclining Nude Woman in the Woods. Nanteuil lived and worked in 19th century France, a period when the nude was a well-established genre, often used to convey ideas of beauty, nature, and mythology. Here, a woman is reclining in the shade of a tree, her body is angled towards us, yet her face is turned away. Her pallid skin stands out against the darker landscape. While the setting is natural, she is also partly draped in cloth. The landscape is tame, more park than wild forest. The nude, historically, has often been a means for male artists to explore and express notions of beauty, desire, and the ideal body, frequently at the expense of the model. The woman here is presented as an object of contemplation, her thoughts and feelings obscured from the viewer. The averted gaze adds to a sense of distance, denying the viewer a direct emotional connection. It asks us to consider whose gaze is truly being served.