Nadelman’s nudes are possessed of unusual delicacy and poise. The man reaches out, while the woman gestures inward. Their fluid, dynamic motions flow harmoniously through space, expressing an energy that Nadelman called "plastic life." Elie Nadelman went to Paris from Warsaw, Poland, in 1905. At the time he made these two works, Nadelman was spending a great deal of time in the Louvre, studying the sculpture of Michelangelo. But most of all, these two early nudes are stylized neoclassical interpretations of ancient art. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire nicknamed Nadelman "Praxitelmann" after Praxiteles, famed sculptor of Classical Greece.
			Elie Nadelman Left: Standing Male Nude, ca. 1908-9 Bronze 25 1/2 x 12 x 9 1/2 in. (64.8 x 30.5 x 24.1 cm) Private Collection ©Estate of Elie Nadelman Right: Standing Nude Figure, ca. 1907 Bronze 29 1/4 x 6 1/2 x 6 in. (74.3 x 16.5 x 15.2 cm) Private Collection ©Estate of Elie Nadelman