Georges Lemmen

In this 1907 Nude, the model lies in a languid pose, yet devoid of eroticism. The slender silhouette stands out against an ochre-white background created by layers of superimposed tones. The contours are defined against the mass of colour surrounding her: a shawl draped over the armchair, a tablecloth made up of multicoloured brushstrokes, a hat, a bouquet… These are rendered in a fairly limited colour palette, harmonised by the presence of an orange background tone on which the artist works in reserve. This colour lends the composition a warm luminosity that overpowers the darker tones and recalls the influence of the Nabis. ““I am seeking to revive the old ochres, English red, as well as good old ivory black itself,” wrote Georges Lemmen in a letter quoted by R. Cardon, which he addressed to his friend W. Finch in November 1903.Three etchings dated 1907—Model at Rest, Model at Rest with a Fan, and Model with a Fan—depict a nude and an interior similar to those in the painting under consideration. Robert Cardon, who identifies the model as Mathilde Beauvois, also considers the etching Model at Rest to be a “preparatory work or one related to” the 1907 Nude. Furthermore, these works reveal traces of Lemmen’s admiration for Ingres.

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