Nude with Loaves 1952

Jean Helion made this painting, Nude with Loaves, with what looks like oil paint, and a restrained palette where browns and creams are offset by the golden loaves of bread. The painting has a casual quality that draws me in, making me think about the artistic process. Helion really lets the materiality of paint shine through. The brushstrokes are visible, creating a sense of texture and depth, particularly in the tablecloth and the woman's back. I see how he builds up layers to describe the form of her body and the folds of the fabric. I keep coming back to the way he’s positioned the loaves. There’s a rhythm there, a repeat of form, that feels both funny and intentional. The dark, clunky boot, contrasted with the fragile twigs, just adds to the humour. The painting is reminiscent of some of Balthus’s strange interiors, which, similarly, contain both the familiar and the deeply odd. Like Balthus, Helion embraces ambiguity, reminding us that art is always a conversation, always an exchange of ideas.