Studies of a Sitting Woman; verso: Studies of Men 1811 - 1889

Eduard Bendemann created these sketches of a sitting woman in pencil on paper. Bendemann was part of the Düsseldorf school of painting in Germany, which emphasized narrative and historical subjects. In this study, we see the artist exploring the female form through different poses. These rapid sketches provide insight into the conventional artistic training of the time, with its strong emphasis on life drawing. There is an undeniable tension here: the depiction of the female nude has historically been a way for male artists to assert control over the female body, yet there's an undeniable element of the gaze, or the artist's fascination with the model’s form. How do we reconcile the intimacy and vulnerability of the model with the power dynamics inherent in this artistic practice? The sheet also contains studies of men, reminding us that the artist's eye was trained on both male and female bodies, albeit through different social lenses. This drawing reveals the complex interplay of gender, representation, and artistic convention in 19th-century art.