Reclining Female Nude

Sculptor Henri Laurens followed his close friend Georges Braque in the pursuit of Cubism and increasingly devoted himself to depictions of reclining female nudes. This painted and scratched drawing is full of tension and ambiguity. Though the image resembles a solid block of stone carved in relief, the angular zones of color seem to move and change. Which planes are closer or farther from us? Is the white triangle in relief; is it transparent? Is the woman emerging from the block, or is it consuming her?