.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Milton Avery’s Sleeping Nude is a fresh and modern interpretation of the traditional subject of the odalisque, popularized by artists such as Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Édouard Manet. Here, the reclining female nude is simplified to her most basic form, with planar shapes delineating the highlights of her body as she poses atop a cool, blue blanket. Set against a warm interior of red and burgundy tones and patterned application of paint, the composition at once emphasizes the flat space of the picture plane while also creating visual complexity. As Hilton Kramer has praised, “There are hazards in this approach to the figure, but Avery has somehow side-stepped the greatest of these, namely, a sense of fixity that would deprive his figures of animation.” (Milton Avery: Paintings, 1930-1960, New York, 1962, pp. 17-19)
Avery once stated, "I work on two levels. I try to construct a picture in which shapes, spaces, colors form a set of unique relationships, independent of any subject matter. At the same time I try to capture and translate the excitement and emotion aroused in me by the impact with the original idea." (as quoted in R. Hobbs, Milton Avery, New York, 1990, p. 172) In Sleeping Nude, this duality is expressed as Avery imbeds the figure with a palpable sense of personality, despite her minimalized form and anonymous face. This effect derives from the way the figure rests her head against her raised arm and the angled position of her body, but also from Avery’s strong use of bold color. Kramer explains, “The characteristic attitude of Avery's figures is one of relaxation and repose. His women--most of his figures are female--read, carry on conversation, talk on the telephone, lie on the beach, or sit around daydreaming. They project a presence that, however disinterested, is far removed from the pictorial stasis that the artist's method might seem to hold in store for them. The reason, of course, is that Avery's color imparts an emotional drama, a weight of emphasis and nuance, that recapitulates on the level of retinal sensation whatever graphic complexities have eliminated in the process." (Milton Avery: Paintings, 1930-1960, p. 19)
With the simplified depiction yet distinctive persona of its figure, and a dynamic composition of warm and cool color juxtapositions, Avery's thoroughly modern approach to a traditional subject in Sleeping Nude marks a pivotal juncture in the artist's career, which would determine the stylistic trajectory of the remainder of his career.
Avery once stated, "I work on two levels. I try to construct a picture in which shapes, spaces, colors form a set of unique relationships, independent of any subject matter. At the same time I try to capture and translate the excitement and emotion aroused in me by the impact with the original idea." (as quoted in R. Hobbs, Milton Avery, New York, 1990, p. 172) In Sleeping Nude, this duality is expressed as Avery imbeds the figure with a palpable sense of personality, despite her minimalized form and anonymous face. This effect derives from the way the figure rests her head against her raised arm and the angled position of her body, but also from Avery’s strong use of bold color. Kramer explains, “The characteristic attitude of Avery's figures is one of relaxation and repose. His women--most of his figures are female--read, carry on conversation, talk on the telephone, lie on the beach, or sit around daydreaming. They project a presence that, however disinterested, is far removed from the pictorial stasis that the artist's method might seem to hold in store for them. The reason, of course, is that Avery's color imparts an emotional drama, a weight of emphasis and nuance, that recapitulates on the level of retinal sensation whatever graphic complexities have eliminated in the process." (Milton Avery: Paintings, 1930-1960, p. 19)
With the simplified depiction yet distinctive persona of its figure, and a dynamic composition of warm and cool color juxtapositions, Avery's thoroughly modern approach to a traditional subject in Sleeping Nude marks a pivotal juncture in the artist's career, which would determine the stylistic trajectory of the remainder of his career.