Woman in Underwear Reclining, 1927

The pencil drawing shows a woman reclining in a relaxed moment. Her head is rested on two cushions, with her hands folded behind it. Her bent legs, with knees drawn up, are casually crossed. The unusual top-view perspective hides her face but lets the viewers’ gazes freely fall and rest on her garter belt and thighs. The German Expressionist painter Georg Tappert (1880–1957) placed his focus in the 1920s and ’30 on women from the Berlin demimonde. He found his subjects mostly in cafés, bars and nightclubs, and vaudevilles. As the reclining woman has kept her shoes and stockings on, it is safe to assume that she is only taking a brief rest. The artist captures in an expressive-realistic manner an intimate moment with keen observation and unabashed voyeurism.

AK, 2021