Nude 1918

Curator: Before us we have Childe Hassam’s 1918 piece titled, simply, "Nude". This graphite and charcoal drawing offers a somewhat different facet of an artist primarily celebrated for his contributions to American Impressionist painting. Editor: It has such an intensely graphic feel—a dynamic push-and-pull with harsh marks that really convey tension and something a bit hidden. It's interesting that a relatively simple composition can suggest all of that. Curator: Indeed, notice how the diagonal strokes create an almost frenetic energy, barely allowing a restful space for the eye. Hassam deliberately utilizes line quality, varying pressure to create dark accents which play against the untouched paper—it's an investigation of the visual mechanics themselves. Editor: The woman almost disappears into this field of jagged, black marks—as if consumed or camouflaged, right? She could be a woodland nymph of sorts…an alluring feminine ideal trapped or disguised by societal pressures. Curator: It could also point towards the changing stylistic preferences toward stark realism in art, an embrace of psychological states which can manifest in the visible world, even overwhelming and deconstructing it. Editor: Considering its execution around the First World War, it's impossible not to sense some turbulence represented, maybe even female grief within it, reflected through history and the present at once. A visual representation of a complicated, fragmented world. Curator: I'm drawn back to the pure technicality; the formal choices of composition creating such a strong atmosphere. And yet I cannot help but see echoes of Symbolism’s pre-war concerns. It feels poised right between styles, an interesting study in transition. Editor: Exactly, Hassam shows us that behind form there are almost always shadows and narratives which speak beyond aesthetic preferences. This piece whispers volumes even in its apparent stylistic reticence.