Nude with Upraised Arms 1906

Georges Rouault created this pastel drawing, Nude with Upraised Arms, at some point in his career. Rouault was trained in stained glass before attending the École des Beaux-Arts. This work epitomizes his engagement with religious subjects and the lives of the marginalized. Painted in France, it's not hard to imagine that Rouault was influenced by the Expressionists’ interest in the abject. There's a raw, visceral quality to this nude, a far cry from the idealized forms we often see in academic painting. Rouault’s decision to depict the female form in such an unvarnished way can be seen as a comment on the objectification of women in art and society. It's a bold statement, one that challenges the established norms of the art world. To fully understand an artwork like this, we often turn to primary sources. These can be anything from the artist's own writings to reviews and criticism from the time. These sources can help us piece together the context in which the work was created and received.