Sunbather Study I Duane Hanson’s ’Sunbather Study I,’ a painted, bronze sculpture of a fleshy middle-aged woman lying idly in the sun, is a great illustration of realism. The sculpture was hand modeled in bronze, then painted, clothed, and given hair. The finished effect is a lifelike rendering of its subject. Her skin appears to be soft and pliable, not made of the hard, inflexible bronze that it is actually composed of, demonstrating the …showed first 75 words of 398 total…

…showed last 75 words of 398 total…for fast food and lazy, sluggish posturing on the beach, possibly in Florida or California on a blazing hot Saturday afternoon. One might wonder, upon viewing this work, why the artist chose to depict a dull, mundane subject such as an undistinguished, unattractive woman basking in the sun. Yet the tedium of ordinary life is inescapable, and Duane explores its depths with passion, creating a superior study of a bored and idle America. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**