Italian artist Felice Casorati started his painting studies in 1902. In 1907, he was already taking part in the Venice Biennale. He created still lifes, genre and religious paintings, female portraits, and paintings of nude figures. Casorati was a scenic designer as well.

In his art, we can see the influence of symbolism and Art Nouveau. The artist took an interest in works by Puvis de Chavannes, Hans von Marees, Gustav Klimt, and the Pre-Raphaelites. In 1919, Casorati took an interest in metaphysical painting. In his compositions he started to use principles of spatial constructions developed by Giorgio de Chirico. In the 1920s, being impressed by Paul Cezanne’s works, he turned to paintings of Italian quattrocento art – primarily, works by Piero della Francesca. Casorati implemented his ideas in series of compositions depicting figures in a studio.

One of those series includes ‘A Girl in a Studio’, a study of a nude model from behind, from the Museum collection. The simplified forms, the strict plastic language, and the clarity of spatial constructions make this small study look monumental.