The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Seated Woman

Seated Woman

c. 1923–1924
(Russian, 1893–1943)
Russia (worked in France), 20th century
oil on canvas
Framed: 88.9 x 78.7 x 8.6 cm (35 x 31 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 65 x 54 cm (25 9/16 x 21 1/4 in.)
Gift of the Mildred Andrews Fund 1988.94
Location: 223 20th Century Avant-Garde

Did You Know?

Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was inspired by Soutine's work for his short story "Skin."

Description

The woman portrayed here seems to bear the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her ghostlike silhouette in tones of green and brown is bent over, her eyes look downward. The positioning of her large hands emphasize an inward-looking, melancholic state of mind. Soutine’s early experience of religious persecution had a large influence on his art. As an expatriate Russian Jew living in Paris, Soutine had to escape from the French capital and hide in order to avoid arrest by the Gestapo. He died in 1943 from a stomach ulcer.
  • P. A. Regnault (Amsterdam sale 1958); Mrs. John Putnam
  • Julie Mehretu: Portals (FRONT International: Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 13, 2022).
    Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943), l'ordre du chaos. Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, France (October 2, 2012-January 21, 2013).
    Musée d'Orsay (organizer). Musee de l'Orangerie, Paris, France (10/02/2012 - 1/21/2013): "Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943), l'ordre du chaos", no cat. no, p. 144.
    The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).
  • {{cite web|title=Seated Woman|url=false|author=Chaïm Soutine|year=c. 1923–1924|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1988.94