Achteroverleunende naakte vrouw met gekruisde benen before 1925

Aristide Maillol made this drawing, Achteroverleunende naakte vrouw met gekruisde benen, which translates as Reclining nude woman with crossed legs, using graphite on paper. Look at the subtle gradations of tone and gentle curves, and imagine Maillol's hand moving across the paper, coaxing form from a blank surface. There is something so human and tender about the way the figure is rendered. I wonder, what was Maillol thinking as he drew? Was he considering the classical forms of antiquity? Or was he simply captivated by the beauty of the human body? He was part of a dialogue, where one artist responds to, and builds upon, the ideas of those who came before. Drawing allows you to be really embodied, because it is an immediate expression of a thought. This drawing invites us to pause, to reflect, and to appreciate the enduring power of art to connect us across time and space.