About this objectAfter his favourite model broke off their engagement, Steer increasingly painted voyeuristic nudes. This work was partly inspired by representations of Venus and other idealised classical female figures from the Italian Renaissance to the nineteenth century. The context of mythology or allegory legitimised the erotic or objectifying subject matter.
During the period of around 1895-1900, the influence of Rococo sensuality can also be observed in Steer’s figurative painting. Steer was inspired by artists including Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), François Boucher (1703-1777) and Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788).
