Nude woman

Jan Wydra is an artist with a vocation, as he himself said, which can be described by the word perseverance. Having a goal, he stubbornly pursued it despite adversities. In his biography in 1923, he wrote: "After returning from the army I continued to work in an office for a year and a half. Then, having abandoned office work and following the voice of my conscience and a proper vocation, I devoted myself to studying painting - taking Great, Beautiful and Immortal Art as the only goal in my future life".

Józef Czechowicz, the artist's friend, recalled Jan Wydra in his poem autoportret [self-portrait]:

He plucked me out of my childhood dreams

from the boredom of a school book

heartfelt jan wydra.

The naked woman is a motif which has appeared since the beginnings of art. Already in antiquity there was interest in the theme, which was a way of depicting mythological figures. The nude was a popular type of representation for artists learning the craft. The study of the model allowed for a better understanding of the physique, and thus a broadening of skills, before moving on to larger compositions. In ancient times the nude was depicted standing, later images appeared in a reclining position.

The body was shown here realistically, without idealization. The woman has clear curves. The figure is shown with her back, in a dynamic pose, with her hands raised. A similar pose can be seen in the drawing Raj [Paradise] by Wydra, but there the raised hands are holding a basket on her head. Showing the figure backwards allows the figure to remain anonymous. The modelling of the body uses simple contrasts of black and white.

Klara Sadkowska