A figure drawing of exceptional economy — the most reduced of the red chalk series, a back view so stripped of detail that the figure approaches pure form. The composition shows a seated figure seen from directly behind: the spine, the shoulder blades, the rounded form of the shoulders, the hair gathered at the crown in a loose mass. These elements are described in a single continuous red chalk line that follows the body's outer contour from the hairline down to where the figure meets the surface below.
The interior is nearly empty. A few brief marks at the spine and the shoulder blades establish structure without filling it in. The bottom quarter — the sitting mass — is the most described zone, brief overlapping marks building the rounded form. Everything else is implied by the outer edge.
This is the purest example of contour drawing in the figure series: the line is everything, the interior is memory and inference. The single-line contour carries all the information needed — the silhouette of a seated human back is immediately and completely legible, the individual details unnecessary.
The pale white paper — cooler and brighter than the cream papers of most figure drawings — gives the red chalk line an unusual crispness. The marks are lighter than in the more sustained red chalk works, suggesting either a lighter touch or a harder chalk.