Nude [recto]

c. 1913

Erich Heckel

Associated Names
Erich Heckel

Artist, German, 1883 - 1970

The image displays flowing lines and angular shapes, with a prominent zigzag line. A kneeling figure resembling a woman is drawn with a simplistic outline in the foreground, while a red-brown line creates a border. To the left, a vase-like shape on a ledge is depicted. The overall scene maintains an abstract representation with clear geometry, inviting viewers to connect the shapes to everyday objects and the human form.
This object’s media is not available for download. Contact us about image usage.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    watercolor and graphite on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 48.8 x 36.5 cm (19 3/16 x 14 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1951.10.309.a

Associated Artworks

The sketch depicts a person sitting at a table, leaning forward with their left arm resting on the table. They are holding a pen in their right hand as if writing or drawing. The person's head is tilted downward, focusing on the work in front of them. The facial features are minimal, with a straight, composed expression and long hair falling around their face. They wear a long-sleeved garment with striped patterns. On the table are rectangular shapes resembling paper or books. The background shows an interior setting with abstract lines and curves. There are no visible accessories or objects. In the upper left corner, there is a small sketch of another person or sculpture next to books.

Arbeitende Frau [verso]

Erich Heckel

1913


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Claude Schaefer [1913-2010], Montevideo, Uruguay; sold 1950 to Lessing J. Rosenwald; [1] gift 1950/1951 to the National Gallery of Art.
[1] In Recollections of a Collector, 1976, p. 56-57, Rosenwald described being approached by a young man in South America who offered to sell his father’s collection of prints that he had brought with him from Germany. Rosenwald gives the year as 1951, but his appointment books confirm that it was actually 1950 - he left for Buenos Aires on 9 February 1950 and returned on 20 March 1950 (Library of Congress, Rosenwald Papers, Box 75). Rosenwald writes that he bought the entire collection of some 1100 prints and drawings, but as they had already been scheduled to be sent to Europe they came to the United States via Antwerp, arriving in the US in late April 1950. Rosenwald decided to keep about a quarter of the collection, destined for the National Gallery of Art, and donate the remainder to other institutions. The inventory log of Alverthorpe indicates that just over 300 works were accessioned there in May of 1950, inventory numbers 50.260-50.530, acquired from Claude Schaefer (Gallery Archives, National Gallery of Art, RG 45A1, Rosenwald Papers, Box 41).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2024

  • The Anxious Eye: German Expressionism and Its Legacy, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2024.

Markings

Verso, stamped in black ink: COMISION NACIONAL DE MUSEOS / Y MONUMENTOS HISTORICOS / JOSE LUIS BUSANICHE / SECRETARIO GENERALE

Wikidata ID

Q64559589

You may be interested in

Loading Results