A naked woman in front of a fireplace

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (the USA).

For Balthus, a naked or partially dressed teenage girl was a lifelong subject of attention – dreaming, sleeping, and looking at themselves in the mirror models. The artist was repeatedly accused of unhealthy erotic attraction, which was not confirmed by his biography. In this painting, a nude female looking at herself in a large mirror amazes the viewer with her sculptural monumentality in combination with a soft silver light that fills the figure and the spacious empty room. The pose of the model evokes associations with figures on the ancient Egyptian friezes.