Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Girl Resting

Image not available
Carl Hofer
1878-1955

Girl Resting

1920s
14 1/4 x 20 1/8 inches (36.3 x 51.1 cm)
Graphite pencil on paper.
2005.135

Bequest of Fred Ebb.

Notes
Following in the footsteps of nineteenth-century German artists working in Italy (he lived in Rome between 1903 and 1908), Hofer embraced the classical tradition and devoted himself primarily to figure painting. An atmosphere of detachment and melancholy prevails in his work. In this undated pencil drawing, a young woman rests on a blanket at the foot of a tree. Her body language suggests a mood of introspection. The figure is monumental in relation to the tree, which is barely described. A few horizontal strokes denote the landscape, from which Hofer erased the indication of a village in the background, reinforcing the feeling of isolation and communion with nature. Rather than a finished drawing, this is a rapid sketch. It probably dates from the 1920s, Hofer's finest period.
Inscriptions/Markings
Monogrammed at lower right, "CH"; verso: Signed and inscribed, "Karl Hofer Ruhendes Mädchen".
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings