Technical information
- Title : Seated Nude
- Date : 1928
- Technique : Charcoal
- Dimensions : 42 × 31 cm
- Location : Unknown
Biographical / historical context
In 1928, Breuillaud entered a clear transitional phase. While continuing the ZM themes—wastelands, figures of the Zone, and portraits charged with social intensity—he also returned to a foundational exercise: the academic study of the nude. This renewed focus on the body does not replace his interest in the margins; it complements it, strengthening his graphic tools and his understanding of volume, light, and complex poses.
Charcoal, with its speed of execution and capacity for modelling, became a preferred medium for refining anatomy and the balance of masses. Seated Nude belongs to this line of research: an atelier study that, at a distance, feeds the later virtuosity of large figurative compositions, where bodily structure remains a central issue.
Formal / stylistic description
The female model is shown seated on the ground, torso upright, with one arm raised above her head. The pose creates a gentle torsion that articulates the chest, the arc of the flank, and the rounded hips. The absence of setting and the broad reserve of paper concentrate attention on the construction of the body and the internal tension of the gesture.
The charcoal line is supple and continuous, with firm, confident contours that establish the skeleton without hesitation. The raised arm, the composition’s vertical axis, reveals a precise balance between anatomical accuracy and freedom of line. Shadows are numerous yet never heavy, worked in velvety gradations: a light modelling that swells the volumes of hip, abdomen, and torso while allowing the paper to breathe.
The face, slightly seen from below, carries an expression that is both concentrated and surrendered, contrasting with the will implied by the lifted arm. The slightly tinted grain of the support catches the charcoal and softens transitions, giving the whole a sfumato-like quality that balances academic rigor with modern sensitivity.
Comparative analysis / related works
This sheet belongs to the group of transitional nudes from the late 1920s, halfway between the academic drawing inherited from training and the freer research that will later appear in more stylised nude series. Compared with contemporary ZM works (fringe urban landscapes and expressive portraits), Seated Nude shifts the focus: the body is no longer a social figure, but an object of study, built through line, mass, and light.
The anatomical foundation patiently consolidated here will reappear later, transposed and amplified, in compositions where the figure becomes more synthetic yet remains supported by a solid understanding of pose and volume.
Justification of dating and attribution
The date 1928 is considered certain: it accords with the signature and with the manner of these late-decade charcoal studies, where a firm contour is paired with soft modelling and careful use of the paper. No formal element contradicts the attribution.
Provenance / exhibitions / publications
Location unknown.