Girl on Stool
Philip Pearlstein
Description
Philip Pearlstein began his series of prints exploring the nude in the late '60s. The artist's approach to his subject embodies a tension between the cool neutrality with which he records the human body and the artfulness with which he poses and frames the figures. On the other hand, these are formalist studies, which we can appreciate for the repetitive effect of hatchmarks denoting shadow, as well as the flattening created by the distribution of strong light and shade. On the other hand, these works seduce us by the eroticism of the nameless models and by the strange angles of the sitters and the teasing cropping of the forms.
Subject Matter:
This print is in Pearlstein's signature hyperrealist style, not idealizing the figure. Pearlstein is a figurative artist who focuses on depicting realistic representations of his models, based on "direct optical experience...of the world," unlike other hyperrealist artists who work from photos or pop images.
Physical Description:
A nude woman sits on a stool, leaning against a wall, with legs crossed on the seat and hands resting on legs. The figure is truncated just above nose.
Usage Rights:
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