Nude 2 by Edvard Munch

Fitting into a revisited artistic tradition, this academic nude study stands out for its chromatic intensity and its underlying dramatic tension. Through a minimalist but powerful staging, this composition explores bodily plastics under the innovative brush of the great painter Edvard Munch. This masterful creation, which is entitled “Nude 2”, captures the mysterious sensuality of an isolated silhouette in a space saturated with symbolism.

An entirely naked woman is represented from behind, seated on a crumpled white sheet resting on an invisible surface at the bottom of the canvas. Her silhouette with generous shapes reveals the muscles of her back and the curve of her waist, her right hand being placed firmly on her hip in a graphic posture. Her black hair is pulled up into a voluminous and messy bun, revealing the nape where colored reflections can be discerned. The background of the composition is a solid and vibrant vermilion red wall that oppresses the space and brings out the golden paleness of the skin. The light comes from the left.

The artist’s technical virtuosity is expressed in the contrasted treatment between the softness of the flesh and the violence of the red background. His mastery of oil painting offers a very rich rendering of skin textures, affirming a carnal realism and an undeniable plastic strength.