This drawing was among the first works by Pan acquired by the French state. The body is observed through life-study discipline, yet ink refuses the smooth tonal modelling expected from an academy sheet. Line varies, repeats, and searches, making the act of looking visible.
The study anticipates Pan's mature new fine-line language. Chinese brush practice does not provide a decorative border around a European nude; it changes how volume is built. Flesh emerges from rhythmic accumulation, leaving paper and body open to one another.
