Still Life With Figure 1930

Emil Ganso made this print, “Still Life With Figure,” sometime in his career. It is a classic still life arrangement – fruit, wine, and drapery – but Ganso adds a twist. Behind the bottle is a framed picture of a reclining nude figure. The still life invokes both leisure and sensuality and the framed nude is presented as another luxury object, raising questions about the commodification of the female body in modern society. Ganso was part of a generation of artists working in the United States who confronted modern life through printmaking, engaging with topics ranging from urban life, labor, and social inequality. To understand the full scope of Ganso's work, scholars draw upon sources, such as exhibition reviews, personal letters, and auction records. These resources help to reconstruct the artistic and cultural networks of the period. The meaning of this work, as with all art, emerges from its complex and evolving relationship to the world.