David, Manet, Caillebotte, Matisse

Generally associated with German Romanticism, where it symbolizes the individual separated from the world or in search of a new unity, the back figure is no less present in painting from David to Matisse.

In what way does it reflect the modern condition and turn image conventions on their head, to the point of disturbing the habits of portraiture and the nude, both feminine and masculine, is the subject of this lecture, inspired by more than a century of French creation.