Seated Female Figure Seen from Behind

This pastel is a reduction after Puvis de Chavannes' Allegory of the Sorbonne mural from 1889. The large fresco is in the Grand Amphitheater at the University of the Sorbonne in Paris and is filled with figures that represent different academic disciplines and divisions within the university. This nude, for example, represents Botany, indicated by the flowers in her lap). In this pastel, the artist has slightly reworked the painted figure so that the nude could stand as an independent work of art. Puvis de Chavannes often worked in pastel and his characteristic long, sweeping cross-hatches, directional strokes, and limited outlining are visible in this work.