Two Nude Female Figures (Seated and Bending) 1923

This work by Olexandr Archipenko pictures two female nudes with watercolor, and it’s all about the body's geometry. Looking at these figures, I get a sense of the artist thinking through the act of representation itself. I imagine Archipenko going back and forth, layering the paint, trying to find just the right balance between form and space. The figures are built from gentle curving lines which delineate the form and give them a soft roundness. It's interesting how they relate to each other, almost like a puzzle of shapes and volumes. I wonder if Archipenko was looking at Cubism when he made this? It's got that same interest in breaking down the figure into planes and angles. Maybe he was also thinking about the old masters and the way they depicted the nude. It's like he's having a conversation with all these different artists, past and present. And in the end, he comes up with something that’s entirely his own.