Standing Female Nude (back view)
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Accession Number
66.1481
About this artwork
Jh Purchased From Babcock Galleries, New York 1957
Art Historical Context
Thomas Eakins (1844–1916), one of America's foremost realist painters from, captured the human form with unflinching precision in *Standing Female Nude ( view)*, created in 1908. This late-career painting reflects Eakins' lifelong dedication to anatomical accuracy, through his studies at Jefferson Medical College and his controversial tenure at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. By focusing on the back view, Eakins viewers to contemplate the subtle play of light and shadow across the spine, muscles, and contours, emphasizing structure over idealization—a hallmark of his realist style that ...