Nude on a Draped Couch
, 1931
18 x 15.8 in (h x w)
Etching
Sloan’s etching references an “academic setting,” wherein a model poses nude for an artist to reuse in later compositions. The model’s overly-contorted stance and tense musculature draws attention away from the supposed sensuousness of a nude, instead highlighting the artificiality of the practice: only in the fantasy realm of art would we stumble upon a naked woman in such an uncomfortable position. (BR)