Composition
r.: Two nudes reclining on a terrace, The Hunterian
Variations in Blue and Green, Freer Gallery of Art
The seated figure could be a study for the central figure in Variations in Blue and Green [YMSM 084]; if so, it suggests a radically different approach to the central area of the composition.
r: Two nudes reclining on a terrace, The Hunterian
Study for 'Variations in Blue and Green', photograph, Library of Congress
Study for 'Variations in Blue and Green', The Hunterian
There are three studies of this group: the recto of r.: Two nudes reclining on a terrace; v.: Two women looking over a terrace [M.0345], Study for 'Variations in Blue and Green' [M.0347] and Study for 'Variations in Blue and Green' [M.0346]. They show nudes in similar, but not identical, poses. It is likely that the figures would have worn semi-classical robes in the final composition, which could have been an unrealised figure composition or a variant on Variations in Blue and Green [YMSM 084].
The poses invite comparison with the intertwined nudes in Le Sommeil (1866, Petit Palais, Paris) by Jean-Désiré-Gustave Courbet (1819-1877).
Technique
See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 342).
Last updated: 9th December 2020 by Margaret
