Artwork
Nude
Nude is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Roger de La Fresnaye. It dates from 1910 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: RdelaFresnaye / 1910
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Its designation as a portrait in museum records suggests an emphasis on the individual presence of the sitter rather than on mythological or symbolic content.
Roger de La Fresnaye's Nude is a figure study whose main subject is the unclothed figure. Executed in oil on cardboard in 1910, the work presents the nude as the central focus of representation, aligning with the early twentieth-century French tradition of treating the nude as a subject for formal study. Its designation as a portrait in museum records suggests an emphasis on the individual presence of the sitter rather than on mythological or symbolic content.
Technique & Style
Roger de La Fresnaye's Nude, created in 1910, is executed as an oil painting on a cardboard support. The work measures 87.2 cm in height and 62 cm in width. The piece demonstrates the artist's handling of oil pigments on a non-traditional, rigid substrate of cardboard rather than canvas or wood panel.
The painting is currently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having been bequeathed by Chester Dale in 1963.
History & Provenance
Roger de La Fresnaye painted Nude in 1910, employing oil on cardboard. The work remained in the artist's estate until its sale at Hôtel Drouot in Paris on 27 June 1931 (lot 94), after which American collector Chester Dale acquired it. Dale later bequeathed the painting to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it has been part of the museum's collection since 1963. No documentation of a specific commission or patronage for this piece is recorded in the available sources.
Legacy
The 1910 oil on cardboard portrait Nude by Roger de La Fresnaye was sold at the Hôtel Drouot auction in Paris on 27 June 1931 (sale no. 94) and later purchased by collector Chester Dale. Dale’s bequest in 1963 transferred the work to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains in the museum’s permanent collection. Measuring 87.2 cm by 62 cm, the painting depicts a solitary nude figure and is classified as a portrait.
Its inclusion in a major national museum illustrates the continued scholarly attention to de La Fresnaye’s contribution to early twentieth‑century French art.
Overview
Roger de La Fresnaye's painting, Nude, created in 1910, is an oil on cardboard work. This portrait presents a solitary female figure, rendered with a directness characteristic of the early 20th century. The artist's choice of medium and subject reflects a period of exploration in modern art, focusing on the human form without narrative embellishment.
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