The theme of the reclining figure was one of the most important in Moore’s work and one to which he returned throughout his life. His interest in the theme was inspired by seeing Mexican sculptures of chacmool – reclining figures, supported on their elbows with their heads turned 90 degrees from the front. Moore described the chacmool as one of the most significant influences on his early work, commenting that it was not only the reclining pose of the figure but its sense of weight and massiveness that appealed to him.
Although this sculpture, made when Moore was 84, has a more elongated, sinuous quality than some of his earlier sculptural explorations of the theme, traces of the Mexican influence can be found in the figure’s position (lying on her back with knees raised and feet grounded), the majestic turn of her head and the block-like stylised suggestion of hair.