Claude Grange
Vienne 1883 – 1971 Paris

Reclining Female Nude

​1942

Red chalk on paper

585 × 482 mm

Signed (lower left): “C. Grange / 1942”

Claude Grange, born in Vienne, Isère, trained first at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, then entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1906, where he studied in the studio of Jean-Antoine Injalbert. Awarded the Second Grand Prix de Rome in 1911, he went on to establish himself as a sculptor of public monuments, portraits, and bas-reliefs, and was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1950.

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Although Grange is known above all for sculpture, our red chalk drawing reveals the same concern for volume and the living presence of the body in his graphic work. The figure is shown from behind, reclining or turning slightly. The pose exposes an elegant though tantalising broad curve of the back, the shoulder blades, the waist, and the soft turn of the hip.

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The use of red chalk gives the sheet warmth and intimacy. Grange models the body with broad, velvety shading, allowing the forms to emerge gradually from the paper. The darker passages around the hair, neck, and lower back give a sculptural quality to the figure, while the lighter areas preserve the softness of the skin.