La Plage 1957

André Lhote offers us "La Plage," a scene rendered in the language of early 20th-century modernism. We observe a beach scene, figures reclining in repose, distilled into geometric forms. Consider the motif of reclining figures. It echoes classical sculptures of sleeping gods and goddesses that have been unearthed through time. There is a lineage from ancient Greece to the modern era. Here, the figures, fragmented and abstracted, recall the classical ideal of leisure and contemplation. The act of repose is not merely physical; it is psychological. It allows for introspection, imagination, and the processing of experience. This motif has morphed from sacred, divine rest into an everyday scene. Lhote’s figures on the beach embody the modern pursuit of leisure, linking contemporary society back to the wellsprings of human culture.