The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Stream
The trope of the female nude in painting became intensely popular in Western art in its modern form during the early 16th century. Centuries later, the imagery of the female nude is seen here, in an American painting that adopts a much more modern style. The pose of the model resembles that of the Soubiran , even though the two paintings are very different otherwise. In this work, the accentuation of the woman’s body necessitates a voyeuristic gaze to make her figure intelligible, even if her image is unclear.