Artist Eugene de Blaas Type Oil on cradled panel | Year 1914 Location Private collection | |
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Dimensions 78.4 cm × 44.5 cm (30.9 in × 17.5 in) | ||
In the Water (French: Dans l'Eau) is an oil on cradled panel painting of a skinny dipping young woman by Eugene de Blaas. It is his only nude, as all his other subjects are fully clothed. It is 78.4 cm high and 44.5 cm tall.
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Description
The painting depicts a naked young woman standing up to mid-calf in water, leaning forward, looking down at a school of tiny fish. She has a rosy complexion, and her curly, dark brown hair is tied back.
Although there is no sun in the composition, golden light shines through the cloudy sky and reflects on the water. There is land in the background, with a patch of greenery to the right.
The artist signed his name and the date (1914) on the lower-left corner of the composition in dark ink.
Background
Eugene de Blaas was born into an Austrian family of artists. Eugene's brother Julius von Blaas was a painter, Karl von Blaas, his father was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and also a painter and sculptor. Later Karl de Blaas moved to Rome in Italy, when he became a professor at the art academy in Rome, where the children, Eugene and Julius were born. The family relocated to Venice when Karl became professor at the Academy of Venice. Eugene de Blaas art was well received in England, he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, the Grafton Gallery and the New Gallery.