Nude, Back 

Aristide Maillol made this drawing, titled ‘Nude, Back’ in France at some point during his career as a sculptor and painter. The image presents us with a female nude, viewed from the back, her hair elegantly pinned up. The soft, shaded lines give a sense of volume and classical form. Maillol's work emerged during a period when artists were grappling with tradition, with many choosing to explore abstraction and non-representational art. Maillol, by contrast, turned to the classical tradition. His nudes evoke classical Greek sculpture, with their celebration of the human form. He was part of a wider trend called ‘the return to order’ following the First World War, a movement that rejected the avant-garde in favor of traditional artistic values. As art historians, we might use the archives of museums and galleries, along with catalogues and biographies, to understand better the artist's life and work. By understanding Maillol's place in the art world of his time, we can better appreciate the dialogue he was having with both tradition and his contemporaries.