sitzender weiblicher Akt 1940

Karl Wiener made this seated nude in 1940 or '41 using graphite and coloured pencil. You can see how Wiener builds form slowly, using layers of delicate marks to suggest tone and volume. It's a process of continuous adjustment. I find the colour here really striking. The body is built from pale, rosy pinks and reds, and set against a cool gray background, with that yellowish-beige cushion. The overall effect is sensual, but slightly detached. Notice the linear construction, the way the body is built from clearly defined shapes, cylinders and spheres. The circle on the knees. The line that traces the outline of the body is continually adjusted, corrected, doubled, and re-doubled. The marks are tentative, but confident, like he's thinking through the image, feeling his way around it. I see echoes of Schiele or Klimt in this piece, but Wiener's approach is more restrained, less overtly expressionistic. I like that it doesn't force any one reading on us, it's up to us to keep the conversation going.