Balthus painted landscapes, portraits, and interiors, but the female sitter in various states—daydreaming, reclining, or sleeping, often nude or partly clothed, and typically charged with erotic content—is the subject most frequently depicted in his oeuvre. "Nude in Front of a Mantel" is striking for the sculptural monumentality of the model, who looks as if carved from marble, and for the soft silvery light that bathes the figure and fills the room.
