Henry Fuseli
A Woman standing, seen from the back, drawing a curtain aside

Artwork Detail
In spite of her delicate slipper-clad feet, the transparent nature of the shift worn by this ‘courtesan’ gives a sense of the heft of her figure, suggesting a female of some force and power. Unlike the common fear expressed in John Knox’s 1558 tract, ‘The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regimen of Women’, Fuseli gained erotic enjoyment from his depictions of dominant women. An initial sketch of the woman’s pose shows her anatomy as if écorché or flayed, thereby emphasising her musculature.
- Title
- A Woman standing, seen from the back, drawing a curtain aside
- Artist/creator
- Production date
- circa 1795-circa 1800
- Medium
- Pencil, pen, wash and body colour
- Dimensions
- 307 x 173 mm
- Credit line
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1965
- Accession no
- 1965/55
- Copyright
- No known copyright restrictions
- Department
- International Art
- Display status
- On display
To find out which artworks are available for print requests and reproduction please enquire here. This service only applies to select artworks in the Gallery's collection.