

Nude Before a Mirror, 1955
Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) (French, 1908–2001)
Oil on canvas
Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) (French, 1908–2001)
Oil on canvas
75 x 64.5 in. (190.5 x 163.8 cm)
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.155)
© 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Balthus painted landscapes, portraits, and interiors, but the female sitter in various statesdaydreaming, reclining, or sleeping, often nude or partly clothed, and typically charged with erotic contentis the subject most frequently in his oeuvre. Nude Before a Mirror is striking for the sculptural monumentality of the model, who seems to be carved from marble, and the soft silvery light that bathes the figure and fills the room.







