Willem de Kooning
Woman V 1952-53
oil and charcoal on canvas
154.5 (h) x 114.5 (w) cm
© Willem de Kooning, 1952-53/ARS. Licensed by VISCOPY, Sydney 2002
This is one of a series of six female figures painted by Willem de Kooning between 1951 and 1953. When the painting was first exhibited in New York, de Kooning was criticised for having betrayed the ideals of abstraction. He drew on depictions of women through the ages, including ancient Mesopotamian figurines, modern magazine pin-ups and a Rembrandt painting — the arms of this figure were originally arranged in a similar position to the Dutch old master’s A Woman Bathing in a Stream, in which a woman holds up her skirt to clear the water as she wades. De Kooning’s exploration of the female image relates to established traditions, but also challenges them. Woman V is painted with fury and energy and makes few concessions to pictorial decorum.