Joseph Posenaer, Seated Nude, 1897

by Atelier Liesjes

A nude figure is seated on a low, rectangular block, viewed from behind and from the side. The back is broad and muscular; the left arm rests on the floor; the knees are bent; and the feet lie side by side on the floor. The head is turned in profile to the right, with short hair and a sharp line from forehead to nose to chin. The light comes from the left and casts a soft sheen on the shoulder, back and thigh, whilst the right side of the body remains in shadow. The background is a plain, dark surface, from which the figure struggles to emerge. The block on which the figure sits is barely defined and blends into the dark background. The study is executed in black chalk with white highlights on tinted paper: the shadows are rendered with broad, soft strokes, whilst the light areas are built up with short, white accents. This gives the body volume without harsh contours. It is a classical academic figure study, created to practise anatomy, foreshortening and the play of light, but the pose is anything but conventional: the head is turned away and the gaze is directed beyond the page. In the bottom left-hand corner is the signature in red chalk, with the year 97. The toes and fingers are rendered with short, precise lines, whilst the muscles of the back are depicted with broad strokes. Joseph Posenaer (Antwerp 1876 – Borgerhout 1935) was a Belgian painter, draughtsman and printmaker. In addition to landscapes and cityscapes, he produced many figure studies, in which the academic tradition of the nineteenth century is evident, but which also display a looser, almost Impressionist touch. His work can be found, amongst other places, in the Rijksmuseum and in Belgian collections. The drawing bears an inventory number in the bottom left-hand corner, a trace of its former place in a museum collection. A powerful, tranquil study for a lover of nineteenth-century drawing.