About the Work
In 1912, Jawlensky drew the female nude in numerous and ever new variations. This study on thin Japanese paper dates from that phase as well. It derives its impact from the contrasts between the different graphic devices: whereas concentrated, clear, sharp lines describe the contour of the reclining figure’s body, wider, somewhat loosely placed, jagged strokes create shade and a sense of depth. Through the intersection of these two types of line, the body merges with its surroundings. The face is stylized to such an extent as to look virtually planar, but the body—despite its reduction to contour lines—possesses a three-dimensional quality.
About the Acquisition
The Städel Museum has the photographer, psychotherapist, philanthropist, and long-time Frankfurt resident Ulrike Crespo (1950–2019) to thank for more than ninety works ranging from classical modernism to American pop art. The paintings, drawings, and prints by Wassily Kandinsky, Otto Dix, Oskar Schlemmer, Max Ernst, Jean Dubuffet, Cy Twombly, and others originally belonged to the holdings of her grandfather, the Darmstadt-based industrialist Karl Ströher (1890–1977), who amassed an extensive art collection after World War II.
