Standing Nude Woman Holding a Box
Medium
graphite on paper
Dimensions
image: 33 x 25.2 cm (13 x 9 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Anne and Jacques Baruch Collection
Accession Number
2004.109.33.a
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Karel Vitezslav Masek's *Standing Nude Woman Holding Box* (1896) is a poised graphite drawing on paper, measuring 33 x 25.2 cm. Captured in the artist's precise lines and subtle shading, the work depicts a standing female nude cradling a small box, evoking quiet introspection amid the academic tradition of figure studies popular in late 19th-century Europe. As a Czech artist active during the fin-de-siècle era, Masek contributed to the evolving modernist scene, where drawings like this served as essential explorations of anatomy and form. Graphite's fine texture allowed for masterful tonal modeling, highlighting the body's graceful contours and the enigmatic prop, which adds a narrative touch to an otherwise intimate study. Now in the National Gallery of Art's CG-W Department—thanks to the generous gift of the Anne and Jacques Baruch Collection—this piece offers visitors a window into an artist's preparatory process, celebrating the enduring allure of the human figure in drawing.
About the Artist
Karel Vitezslav Masek · 1865–1927
Karel Vítězslav Mašek (1865–1927) was a versatile Czech painter, architect, illustrator, and art professor whose career bridged academic traditions with emerging modernist tendencies in fin-de-siècle Europe. Born in Prague on September 1, 1865, he began his formal training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague under Antonín Lhota before transferring in 1884 to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. T...