Sleeping Nude 1980

Balthus painted this Sleeping Nude with oils on canvas, but I bet it didn't start there. I can just imagine the act of building this image, through layer upon layer of thin washes and glazes, building up a dreamlike space, where time seems to stretch and blur. And I can just see Balthus, hovering, circling, looking intensely at the world, seeing the quietness in things, those strange still moments, turning the key to another world, where he is utterly absorbed. It’s almost like he’s asking himself, “How can I make you see what I see?” The way the light falls so softly, but precisely, across her body and the pillow. And there's the geometric pillow there too, looking out of place, like a stranger. It's like a puzzle to be solved, or maybe not even solved. Ultimately painting invites us to consider what we really see when we look. Paintings like this are the way artists talk to each other, across generations. Like Balthus is talking to Courbet, and they are both talking to us now.