Standing Nude, Three-quarter View Facing Right, Arms Back 

Editor: Here we have Mark Rothko's pencil drawing, "Standing Nude, Three-quarter View Facing Right, Arms Back." It’s a delicate, almost tentative sketch. The figure seems caught mid-movement. What can you tell me about this work? Curator: Well, it’s interesting to see Rothko exploring the human form with such traditional means. We typically associate him with abstract expressionism and fields of color. This drawing really grounds him within a longer history of academic figure study, echoing traditions of depicting the nude and potentially reflecting the art institutions he was exposed to earlier in his career. What strikes me is the pose - seemingly inelegant compared to classical nudes; almost confrontational, yet unfinished. Do you think the way it is presented engages with public expectations? Editor: I see what you mean about it being confrontational. I'm used to idealized nudes, and this feels…rawer. Like a study, not a finished statement. Curator: Precisely. And who do you think typically controlled the image and narrative of such artworks? What power structures do you see present, when approaching figurative nudes through that lense? Think about the viewer and artistic agency... it's a study but seemingly deliberately unfinished which encourages further social thought on the role of art and presentation. Editor: It makes me wonder who the model was, and what her experience of being drawn like this was. Also the public versus the artist... It challenges my assumptions about power and beauty in art. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure, thinking through that complexity really opens the image for new and wider historical reception.