Weiblicher Akt, am Boden sitzend 1929

Richard Martin Werner made this pencil drawing of a female nude in 1929. The early 20th century was a period of social upheaval throughout Europe and a time when many artists pushed against traditional subjects and academic artistic conventions. But this sketch, with its classical subject matter and quiet tone, seems uninterested in challenging artistic institutions. It was made in Germany, where there was a strong tradition of academic draftsmanship, and where the nude was an established, if sometimes controversial, subject. We might look at how the nude was treated in German art schools at the time, and how male artists depicted women in interwar Germany. By understanding more about the artist, his training, and the prevailing social attitudes of the time, we can come to a fuller understanding of the drawing.