Study of a Nude with Drapery

Auguste Rodin

ca. 1908 · Pencil and bistre on buff wove paper, darkened, with left margin and bottom right torn · Robert Lehman Collection

Rodin used stumping, a technique that involves smudging graphite to create tone, in many of his late drawings. Here, he subtly modeled the body by blending the contour lines, likely with his finger, while leaving the chemise starkly unshaded. The repetition of the elbow and forearm adds a sense of motion to an otherwise stable pose. The soft, blurring effect of the stumping recalls the atmospheric style of Rodin’s friend the painter Eugène Carrière.

Artist

Auguste Rodin

Date

ca. 1908

Medium

Pencil and bistre on buff wove paper, darkened, with left margin and bottom right torn

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975