Wojciech WEISS (1875-1950), Reading a model while posing

Carbon, sanguine, paper; 26.5 x 38 cm;
Signed l. d.: WW (in pencil);
On the reverse, oval stamp with inscription around: FROM THE COLLECTION OF WORKS BY WOJCIECH WEISS. HOUSE OF THE ARTIST with facsimile of the artist in the middle; and number below 004887.
This composition is part of a series of charcoal and sanguine drawings created in the early 1930s. The subject matter of these works refers to the artist's atelier, where a session of posing is interrupted by a moment of rest, or a mysterious mannequin figure enters the studio.
The offered drawing shows a nude model who, having assumed a graceful pose, is immersed in reading a newspaper.
The artist contrasts the warm reds of her alluring body with the stark blacks of the shadow cast by the bedding. Her head is supported by a satin pillow, and her hand holds the magazine sheets. The artist uses light perfectly, using the whiteness of the sheet of paper to emphasize the brightness of the bedding and the whiteness of the newspaper.
The composition is characteristic of the artist's work of the interwar period. Here we recognize the Biedermeier couch, known from other works. Its high backrest with wooden trim is visible above the figure of the model, in the form of two parallel lines, while the comfortable elbow rest is covered with a pillow.
The depicted scene of the model resting and reading is emblematic of Weiss' art. It is worth mentioning here the famous painting perversely titled "Politics" , in which a nude model in a relaxed pose, carelessly browses through a newspaper while holding it in her raised hands.
Perhaps the offered nude is one of the studies for this famous "Politics".