Woman in Bath 1964

Brett Whiteley painted this Woman in Bath with loose brushstrokes and a warm, earthy palette that feels intimate, like a whispered secret. I can almost feel Whiteley circling the canvas, searching for the right curve, the perfect shadow to capture that languid moment. The paint isn’t overworked, but it’s just enough to suggest the weight of a body submerged, the steam rising, and the quiet solitude of bathing. There’s a real tension between abstraction and figuration in his work. He was always playing with the edge of recognition, the tension of being in the body. This painting reminds me of Bonnard’s bathers—artists who saw painting as an opportunity to explore both the sensuality of the body and the possibilities of paint itself. The work is open to multiple interpretations, inviting you to bring your own experiences and feelings to the act of looking.