Auguste Rodin, considered today to be the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo, was also a prolific and skilled draftsman. Further, his drawings were not preparatory studies for sculptures, but separate, independent works of art. A great admirer of the nude form, works such as Nu aux jambes écartées make evident Rodin's obsessive desire to capture the body in all its potential forms through his art. Spare, yet expressive, the image has an evident immediacy that springs from the artist's uninhibited, impulsive execution of the figure. As if extending the contorted woman's body further, Rodin depicts her legs reaching beyond the upper edge and sides of the sheet. Even though she is shown reclining, he creates the illusion of an acrobatic standing pose. The figure is confidently delineated in sinuous pencil lines enriched by delicate watercolor washes. Although provocative, it is unlikely Rodin aimed to shock or titillate through Nu aux jambes écartées; his candor was in the name of modernism.