Liggende naakte vrouw c. 1915s

This etching, Liggende naakte vrouw, presents a female nude rendered in a vulnerable pose. Her back is turned, yet her presence evokes a complex interplay of exposure and concealment. The seated nude form carries a rich lineage. We see it echoed through time from classical sculptures of Venus to Renaissance paintings of bathers. Each iteration reflecting evolving cultural values and artistic interpretations. Consider Botticelli’s Venus emerging from her shell. The shell as a symbol of fertility and birth is swapped in this image with a pile of cloth, signaling the model is simply resting. The subject's downcast gaze and averted posture suggest a psychological retreat, a visual echo of the introspective figures in Edvard Munch's emotionally charged works. This gesture of turning away resonates deeply, touching on primal themes of shame, introspection, and the complex dynamics of the inner self.