Zittende naakte vrouw 1884 - 1952

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this small print of a seated nude woman using graphic means. I'm struck by the texture, the rough, almost granular quality of the surface, especially where the darker ink describes the space the figure occupies. It’s like a landscape, flattened and brought close. The figure seems to emerge from this ground, rendered in a lighter tone that is still rough and unrefined. Note the marks describing her form, they aren't trying to trick you into thinking this is real. This is honest work, the kind that shows its process. Look at the way her hair is described with simple, almost blunt strokes, or how the lines defining her back are thick and unwavering. The subdued palette adds to the overall mood, a kind of quiet introspection. Like the work of Paula Modersohn-Becker, the artist seems to be looking to capture something essential about the human form. The beauty is in its directness, and in the way it refuses to be anything other than what it is: a print, made by an artist, looking at a model.