Reclining Female Nude, William Etty (1835)
William Etty was the first significant British painter of nudes. He joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1807. All but one of the works he exhibited at school contained at least one nude figure, and he acquired a reputation for indecency. Despite this, he was commercially successful, and in 1828 was elected a Royal Academician, at the time the highest honour available to an artist.
’Reclining Female Nude’ is collected in York Art Gallery and is one of his important works created after this period. The woman in the picture is reclined in a deep and serene landscape, quietly looking to the left from her side, giving a sense of tranquility.
William Etty. Reclining Female Nude, 1830 AD- 1835 AD. York Museum Trust. By Licence: Public Domain.
CHAT
You & Me
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Hello, who are you?
What do you mean? Look at my title!
Your name is ‘Reclining Female Nude’?
Of course not!
Why would William call me that?
I guess that’s all you were to him. Another figure for his audience to consume.
But he said I was special. He said he’d treat me better than the others. He said he’d immortalize me.
That I WOULD NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!
How can you be forgotten if you were never someone to remember?
I want to leave.
I don’t want to be gawked at anymore, how do I get out?
I’m sorry, but you can’t. Your fate is to be stared at forever.
Then
why don’t I at least deserve a name?
Does she deserve a NAME?
Leave your voice!
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