Woman

Familiar compositional themes and motifs appear in Willem de Kooning's work again and again. When the artist liked a particular image he might capture that shape or motif by transferring the work from canvas or other supports onto vellum. Woman is a particularly fascinating work since de Kooning worked both sides of the vellum to achieve his desired effect. Pressing the vellum against wet paint, he captured the desired image and then continued to use charcoal on the back of the vellum to trace that image and add to the composition. The combination of the strong hues of the oil paint and the charcoal emerging through the vellum produce an elegant example of de Kooning's signature subject, woman.