Lot Essay
De la Fresnaye painted several nude figure compositions in 1910-1911 which depict an Italian model named Maria Valente (Seligman, no. 67, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; no. 69, private collection; and no. 71, Philadelphia Museum of Art). The present drawing is one in a series of related studies. In 1912, under the influence of the sculptor Raymond Duchamp-Villon, De la Fresnaye modeled a plaster sculpture, Femme italienne, based on the figure painting now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (cf. bronze cast, sold, Christie's New York, 14 November 1996, lot 280).