Balthus-Thérèse Dreaming

Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski) is a French artist from Paris who lived from 1908 to 2001. His current collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is titled Cats and Girls-Paintings and Provocations, so a person is already given a rather blunt warning that the work within the collection is going to be something that will elicit some type of strong emotion out of you. As I wandered throughout the collection I, along with whom I am sure were many other people, could not help but notice that the level of provocative energy and risque technique shown continued to increase. Toward the beginning of the collective works was a painting titled "Thérèse Dreaming" made in 1938 with oil on canvas at 150 by 130 centimeters.

This piece first observed seems innocent enough, but as I continued to observe it, it only seemed to make me more uncomfortable. I know that it is important to rid yourself of judgement of the art that you are viewing and try to see it with an open mind, but at some level it seems almost impossible. Knowing that the artist was a male only makes the discomfort more prominent, as sexist as that may sound. While the painter was able to capture an essence among his subjects that did not seem possible through painting, I felt as though he could have done so without the need to paint the vast majority of them with their legs open, in peculiar positions, or even completely nude altogether. The whole "natural" look really wasn't befitting for me and I'm really surprised that the artist was able to get away with such context during the time period that he produced the majority of his work. It's rather funny how the idea of nudity and sexuality of young women (and men for that matter) has come full circle so many times from accepted to not and then back again. Just something to think about.

Thérèse Dreaming Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski)