Nude 1902

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen made this nude figure in watercolor, and what strikes me right away is the line. It’s like he’s feeling around the form, not just defining it. You can almost see him thinking, “Where does the light hit? How does the body turn?” There's a real tenderness in the wash of the watercolor, like the color is just barely there, a whisper of pinks and browns. Look at the way the contour lines vary in tone, darker where they describe the shadows around her form. The process feels so exposed. Like a peek into his studio, seeing the work as it unfolds. The sketchy quality reminds me a little of Degas, but with a softer edge. The figure isn’t idealized. She’s just there, present. To me, art is always a conversation, across time, across studios, across ways of seeing. And this drawing feels like an intimate part of that ongoing exchange.