Painting on Canvas by Mark Westerveldt: Nude with Melon, Framed

A seated woman looks straight out, holding a round slice of melon to her chest.

Nude with melon is a framed oil on canvas by Mark Westerveldt, ca. 1990. The nude has occupied painters for centuries as a way to think about form, presence and the act of looking. Westerveldt paints the figure cross-legged and frontal, in pale cream outlined with red and brown, with thin drips falling from her shoulders and thighs. The face is mask-like, with a round spot on each cheek, and straight brown hair falls behind her against a dark ground. It stands 43.5 inches high by 36.5 wide in a red frame.

She meets the viewer directly and gives nothing away.