Two Nudes on a Rug
Date1971
Mediumlithograph on paper
DimensionsSheet: 22 × 30 1/8 inches (55.9 × 76.5 cm)
Matted: 32 × 40 inches (81.3 × 101.6 cm)
MarkingsMarked on the back: "BSA" [above a symbol]
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Dorsky.
Object number1973.8.14
Copyright© Philip Pearlstein.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label Text“Cool, close-up, (…) and scrupulously empirical.” These are some of the words legendary art historian Linda Nochlin used to describe Philip Pearlstein’s work. At a time when many artists moved away from traditional methods of art making toward abstraction and the dematerialization of the art object, Pearlstein was committed to the realistic representation of the nude figure through painting and drawing. However, instead of depicting identifiable models in an idealized fashion, the artist represented bodies as he saw and posed them. Here, through tight, almost clinical framing that omits one of the model’s head and feet, we notice unruly angles, pubic hair, and protruding body parts.
Text written for the exhibition Complex Uncertainties: Artists in Postwar America, October 24, 2020 – May 3, 2021.
