Stående model 1914 - 1915

Karl Isakson rendered this sketch, Stående model, with pencil on paper. Isakson, a Swedish painter who spent significant time in Denmark, was working in the early 20th century, a period of great change and re-evaluation of traditional values. The sketch presents a nude female figure, her identity and story absent from the page. The male gaze has historically dominated the depiction of women in art. However, Isakson’s sketch offers a study in form and line, steering away from idealization, and inviting a reading that focuses on shape and shadow. The seemingly unfinished nature of the work allows a space for contemplation. How might the viewer's own experiences and assumptions about gender and representation shape their reading of this image? Perhaps it is in this space of open interpretation that the work finds its most compelling meaning.