Study of a Draped Woman Leaning on a Pedestal

François Boucher's "Study of a Draped Woman Leaning on a Pedestal" (1759/61) is a black chalk drawing with stumping and white chalk on buff laid paper, laid down onto modern laid paperboard. This is a study for a figure in a larger composition, perhaps for one of Boucher's mythological or allegorical paintings. The woman is shown leaning on a pedestal, her body wrapped in drapery that falls in elegant folds. The black chalk technique with white chalk highlights on buff paper follows the classic method of drawing on tinted paper. The stumping creates soft transitions of tone. The pedestal suggests that the figure may be a personification or allegorical figure—perhaps Music, Poetry, or a similar subject. Boucher's treatment of the drapery is masterful, the fabric rendered with a sensitivity to its weight, texture, and the way it responds to the body beneath. The date range of 1759–61 places this study in Boucher's late mature period, when he was at the height of his fame and working on major commissions for the French court.

Boucher's drapery studies demonstrate his mastery of one of the most challenging subjects in academic art: the representation of fabric and its relationship to the human form.

This study of a draped woman shows Boucher's extraordinary ability to render the fall of fabric, the black and white chalk on buff paper capturing the weight and flow of drapery with remarkable sensitivity.