Philip Pearlstein (American, 1924–2022). <em>Female Model on Platform Rocker</em>, 1977–1978. Oil on canvas, 72 1/4 x 96 1/8 in. (183.5 x 244.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Exxon Income Fund, Healy Purchase Fund B, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, and Restricted Contributions, 79.17. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 79.17_SL1.jpg)

Philip Pearlstein (American, 1924–2022). Female Model on Platform Rocker, 1977–1978. Oil on canvas, 72 1/4 x 96 1/8 in. (183.5 x 244.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Exxon Income Fund, Healy Purchase Fund B, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, and Restricted Contributions, 79.17. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 79.17_SL1.jpg)

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This is fantastic. How come I've never heard of Joan Semmel?

Hm, I'm not sure, but many female artists aren't as well-known as well as they could be, in my opinion! Thankfully we have the Sackler Center for Feminist Art here at the Brooklyn Museum. (This work is from their collection). Here Semmel questions the male gaze and reclaims the female form. I like to compare this with the nearby Philip Pearlstein work, which is painted at a similar time but by a male artist.

Philip Pearlstein's work is the nude woman in the rocking chair. How do you think the identity of the artists change the way you understand the works?

I see that this room with the Semmel is all paintings from approximately 1935 onwards. What would you say they have in common?

I'd say they share interest in the human figure as subject matter. Artists have always been questioning and exploring different depictions of the human body, but this gallery highlights those thoughts after the Second World War.

You might also notice the work by Mickalene Thomas is even more recent (2007). Mickalene Thomas' work (the large painting covered in rhinestones) questions not only the role of the human body in art, but also race and intersecting identities.

Answering your question about Pearlstein and Semmel, I think the Pearlstein figure is posed in a more provocative and sexual way, with her head tilted back. So maybe that's a little more stereotypical as a depiction?

And what do you mean "intersecting identities"?

It's a contemporary idea that people can have simultaneous multiple "identifiers." Thomas is Black, a woman, queer, and a feminist. Intersecting identity recognizes the uniqueness of an individual's experience and point of view.

Thomas's identity and work are placed within these intersecting roads of understanding and conversation. I hope that makes sense!

Yes, very enlightening, thank you!

What's the deal with her knee?

The knee does look a little bit odd, doesn't it. This image is a realist work by Philip Pearlstein, who is particularly interested in depicting the qualities of the human body. The unusual look of the knee is due to Pearlstein's use of lighting to explore hollows and planes in his subjects. Notice how he cuts off parts of the subject's body, focusing in on others. It's possible the knee also looks so unusual because the model is particularly angular.

Thanks!

Female Model on Platform Rocker

Philip Pearlstein

Contemporary Art

A key figure in the revival of realism in the 1960s, Philip Pearlstein experimented briefly with landscape before arriving at his signature subject: the nude model in the studio. Working directly from life, he created crisply and objectively rendered images of candid nude bodies. In this composition, the body of the reclining figure is dramatically foregrounded. The close-up vantage point is reinforced by the abrupt cropping and tilted perspective, while harsh lighting casts decorative shadows against the wall, creating an interplay between realism and abstraction.

ARTIST Philip Pearlstein, American, 1924–2022

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

DATES 1977–1978

DIMENSIONS 72 1/4 x 96 1/8 in. (183.5 x 244.2 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Signed lower left: "Pearlstein 78"

COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 79.17

CREDIT LINE Designated Purchase Fund, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Exxon Income Fund, Healy Purchase Fund B, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, and Restricted Contributions

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Philip Pearlstein (American, 1924–2022). Female Model on Platform Rocker, 1977–1978. Oil on canvas, 72 1/4 x 96 1/8 in. (183.5 x 244.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Exxon Income Fund, Healy Purchase Fund B, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, and Restricted Contributions, 79.17. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 79.17_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 79.17_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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