Nude 

This is Christian Rohlfs's "Nude", of indeterminate date, made with watercolor and ink. Here, a reclining female nude is constructed through soft stippling, creating a sense of gentle vulnerability. Rohlfs, part of the German Expressionist movement, made this work at a time when artists across Europe were grappling with the representation of the human body in a rapidly changing society. How does one represent a body that is no longer bound to classical or academic ideals? In Germany at this time, the Expressionists were especially interested in pushing the boundaries of traditional art. Rohlfs’s distinctive style emerged from the social and artistic ferment of his time, reflecting the radical shifts in artistic expression that were happening in Germany and across Europe in the early 20th century. To understand this work more fully, we might delve into the history of the German Expressionist movement, exploring its relationship to broader cultural shifts. The meaning of art is always shaped by its time.