Nu Assis (Maud)

This 1916 canvas depicting a seated nude named Maud belongs to the wartime period when Van Rysselberghe was living in Saint-Clair in the Var, continuing to paint figure subjects despite the disruption of European life. The practice of painting models in the studio maintained a kind of artistic normality during the years of conflict. Maud — identified only by her given name, consistent with the informal social register of artist-model relationships — is depicted in a seated pose that recalls the long tradition of academic studio practice while being executed in the loosened, post-divisionist technique of Van Rysselberghe's mature years. The title 'Nu Assis' (Seated Nude) locates the work formally within the French fine art tradition; the identification of the model by name personalises it. By 1916 Van Rysselberghe had worked regularly with female models for three decades, and his studio nudes from this period have an ease and confidence that comes from long practice.

Oil on canvas with Van Rysselberghe's evolved late technique: broad, directional strokes replace the earlier dot-work, but the underlying warm-cool colour logic of divisionism still governs the modelling of flesh. Seated poses create complex foreshortening and overlapping forms that test the painter's structural command. The background is loosely indicated to concentrate attention on the figure.