Bather, 1915

About the Work

'Paragone' is the name given in art history to the 'contest of the arts', in which the main issue was always the relative ranking of painting and sculpture - a rivalry which the Ukrainian sculptor dismisses, as it were, with 'Woman Bathing'. He achieves an equal combination of both genres in the objects in his workgroup to which he gave the name 'sculpto-paintings'. Together they unfold their effect without one of the arts outstripping the other. Made of papier mâché and plaster, the object not only shows a three-dimensional woman's body, but also suggests - by means of blue paint as a part of the work - the water in which she is bathing.