Seated female nude 1900 - 1910

Curator: Immediately, I'm struck by the raw emotion captured in this quick sketch. Editor: Indeed. We are looking at Auguste Rodin's "Seated Female Nude", created with pencil sometime between 1900 and 1910. It's currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What I find fascinating is how a few simple lines can convey such depth and weight. It seems more like a fleeting impression than a study for one of his sculptures. Curator: It is, isn't it? It evokes a very particular type of female symbolism. Seated nudes have such a rich history, often tied to concepts of fertility, beauty, but here, Rodin gives it an edge of vulnerability and almost introspection. Her pose, though classical, isn't overtly idealized. Editor: You're right. The shading is so minimal, the pose informal. I see something both intimate and monumental here, despite the clear economy of means. Even the way the background is scribbled almost presses in on her. Rodin has rendered the piece with incredible artistic skill, the result showing a complex interplay of exposure and concealment. Curator: Right. The drawing itself invites viewers into a sense of immediacy and proximity, placing us almost uncomfortably into the artistic process, a process that was also undergoing rapid evolution at the time, particularly regarding its portrayal of women and femininity. Editor: And consider Rodin’s relationship to his contemporaries, to social shifts at the turn of the century and his attempts to translate that. How was this piece intended to communicate feminine identity? Did it affirm existing gender roles or confront them? What does Rodin leave to chance, and how intentional are those artistic decisions? Curator: Precisely! Ultimately, Rodin doesn't give us any easy answers. Editor: No, and perhaps that's its power. It lingers with you.