Frontal Nude Seated, Arms at Side 

"Frontal Nude Seated, Arms at Side" is a pen and ink drawing on paper by Mark Rothko, known more famously for his abstract expressionist paintings. Here, the human form is rendered with a raw and unflinching gaze. Rothko, a Jewish immigrant who came to the US as a child, lived through both World Wars and the Depression. The weight of these events seems palpable even in his early figurative work. There is an emotional vulnerability to the subject that transcends the traditional objectification of the nude. The woman’s expression and posture offer an alternative narrative, one that speaks to the complexities of identity and the search for authentic self-expression. This drawing invites us to consider the emotional and personal dimensions of representation, challenging conventional notions of beauty and power. How can a simple sketch evoke such profound questions about what it means to be seen, and to see oneself?