Fourth Book: Chloe Bathing in the Cave of the nymphs (Chloe se baignant dans la grotte des nymphes) Possibly 1937

Aristide Maillol made this print, Chloe Bathing in the Cave of the Nymphs, sometime in his life. The warm sienna lines are all that's needed to suggest the cool relief of the water and the curve of Chloe's back. I can imagine Maillol making his marks, thinking of past masters like Puvis de Chavannes, and Ingres, but simplifying, getting down to essentials. What could it be like to make something so simple? Do you labor and labor to make something simple? I've done that. The single-color lines and the lack of shading really bring out the shapes and the way they relate to each other, like the water and the nymph's body forming an arch. Maillol was a sculptor, so I bet he was thinking about how forms take up space. I wonder if making prints was a way to get away from all that heavy lifting? Either way, he's part of a long conversation about bodies and nature. It's pretty great when you think about it.