In 1970, having won the prestigious Cite des Artes scholarship, Charles Blackman escaped Australia for Paris. He immediately fell in love with the city, commencing what art historians refer to as his “Golden Era” for drawing. Blackman immersed himself in Parisian culture, setting out to become a “serious” artist by mastering the nude.

From this era, ‘Nude Lying Down’ sees a model sprawl in empty space. Blackman’s linework is confident and intuitive, tracing a silhouette of his subject’s form. It recalls Kenneth Clark’s famous delineation between naked and nude — the former denoting the unclothed, the latter a loaded concept, aesthetic and convention. The nude, Clark argued, was not a subject in art “but a form” and any good artist must wrangle it to progress in their practice.

Sensual, minimal and elegant, ‘Nude Lying Down’ sees Blackman dance with art history. It is a personal expression of creative sophistication, liberated from the shackles of Australia and social conservatism, while also recalling the complex position nudes hold — at once mythological and intimate, caught between strength and vulnerability.

Signed and provenanced from the Charles Blackman Foundation, this highly collectable work pulls the viewer back to the city of love. It will bewitch collectors of Blackman, modern art and nudes.

Charles BLACKMAN (1928 - 2018)
'Nude lying down' circa. 1971
Charcoal on paper
Image Size: 53 x 760 cm
Signed: Signed lower right 'Blackman'
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Fair: Work of art that is intact but requires restoration, re-framing or some repair. Fold over image, fold along lower edge, tear/missing paper on the lower left

© Charles Blackman / Copyright Agency 2023