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Female Model on Platform Rocker

Philip Pearlstein

Contemporary Art

A key figure in the revival of realism in the 1960s, Philip Pearlstein experimented briefly with landscape before arriving at his signature subject: the nude model in the studio. Working directly from life, he created crisply and objectively rendered images of candid nude bodies. In this composition, the body of the reclining figure is dramatically foregrounded. The close-up vantage point is reinforced by the abrupt cropping and tilted perspective, while harsh lighting casts decorative shadows against the wall, creating an interplay between realism and abstraction.
MEDIUM Oil on canvas
DATES 1977–1978
DIMENSIONS 72 1/4 x 96 1/8 in. (183.5 x 244.2 cm)  (show scale)
SIGNATURE Signed lower left: "Pearlstein 78"
COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 79.17
CREDIT LINE Designated Purchase Fund, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Exxon Income Fund, Healy Purchase Fund B, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, and Restricted Contributions
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Philip Pearlstein (American, 1924–2022). Female Model on Platform Rocker, 1977–1978. Oil on canvas, 72 1/4 x 96 1/8 in. (183.5 x 244.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Exxon Income Fund, Healy Purchase Fund B, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, and Restricted Contributions, 79.17. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 79.17_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 79.17_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT © Philip Pearlstein
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