Female nude 

Franz von Stuck rendered this striking female nude in graphite, capturing a pose that speaks volumes. Her arched back and open mouth are reminiscent of ecstatic or tragic figures from antiquity, like the convulsing maenads in ancient Greek art. This pose, echoing through time, appears again and again in depictions of suffering or rapture, from religious martyrdoms to operatic heroines. Think of Bernini's Saint Teresa, caught in a moment of divine ecstasy, her body similarly contorted, her mouth open in a cry. The open mouth, a universal symbol of vulnerability, becomes a vessel for both pain and sublime experience. Consider how this motif resonates on a deeper, almost primal level. The arch of the back, the exposed throat, speak to a yielding, a loss of control. It is this tension between vulnerability and power that imbues the drawing with its enduring emotional force. It is a gesture that transcends time.