Zittende vrouwelijk naakt 1600 - 1667

Cornelis van Poelenburch rendered this red chalk drawing of a seated female nude in the Dutch Republic sometime between 1610 and 1667. During the Dutch Golden Age, the nude was a contested subject, caught between classical ideals and religious constraints. Poelenburch navigated this tension by often depicting nudes within mythological or pastoral scenes, somewhat justifying their presence. Here, however, the woman is presented without narrative context. The drawing, in its quiet intimacy, invites contemplation on the female form. The gaze is averted, not inviting the viewers eye, wrapped in partial drapery, suggesting modesty. But the model's body is also rendered with careful attention, the artist seemingly celebrating the body's natural curves and contours. Consider the complex negotiation between display and concealment, and how the artwork reflects and shapes the evolving attitudes towards the female body in the 17th century.