Vrouwelijk naakt, op de rug gezien c. 1891 - 1892

George Hendrik Breitner created this drawing of a female nude, viewed from the back, using pen and ink. The silvery-grey surface speckled with dark spots provides a textured ground against which Breitner’s delicate lines dance. The composition is striking in its simplicity. The nude figure is rendered with an economy of line, suggesting form and volume with minimal detail. The background is ambiguous, pushing the figure forward, and emphasizing the interplay of light and shadow on her body. Breitner uses this contrast to explore the semiotic relationship between form and space. Breitner’s approach destabilizes traditional representations of the nude. By focusing on the back view and employing a raw, almost unfinished style, he challenges conventional notions of beauty and idealization, inviting viewers to contemplate the body as a site of lived experience rather than simply an object of aesthetic pleasure. The rough surface further underscores this move away from the ideal, embedding the drawing in a material reality that complicates any straightforward reading.