Nude with Raised Arms 1998

John Currin has made an unsettling painting of a Nude with Raised Arms. This piece seems to me a sort of anti-portrait, almost a caricature of a classical nude. Looking at it I imagine Currin in his studio, working slowly, deliberately, layering thin glazes of oil paint to create that smooth, porcelain-like skin. The light is so soft, almost caressing the figure, but the pose is awkward, almost like she is in a mirror. I am sure he was thinking about the Old Masters, maybe Ingres, but also turning it on its head with a kind of sly wink. I see a connection between Currin's work and other contemporary painters who are playing with the history of figurative painting, like Lisa Yuskavage and Elizabeth Peyton. Ultimately, artists are always in conversation, taking cues from the past, twisting them, and making something new. It's a messy, beautiful, and totally human process.