Czóbel Nude 

Bela Czóbel created this ink drawing, titled "Czóbel Nude," sometime during his career that spanned much of the 20th century. Czóbel, a Hungarian painter with a Jewish background, lived through two World Wars and was part of the École de Paris, a community of émigré artists working in Paris before the Second World War. His expressive brushwork and bold, angular lines are visible here. But I want you to consider the representation of the female nude. In a traditional art historical context, it is often depicted for the male gaze. Czóbel offers a counter narrative. This female figure seems to be caught in a moment of repose, and is presented with a kind of unapologetic self-awareness. Czóbel’s piece invites us to rethink the power dynamics inherent in the act of looking, and to consider the female form as a site of lived experience rather than a mere object of aesthetic contemplation.