Accession Number
1978.35
Medium
black chalk heightened with white chalk, both with stumping (with spots of black ink and brown paint, unrelated to composition)
Dimensions
Sheet: 29.8 x 23.4 cm (11 3/4 x 9 3/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur D. Prescott
Tags
Drawing Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Ink
Background & Context
Background Story
Two Women from the 1800s is a drawing attributed to the circle of Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (1758-1823), the French painter known for the elegantly composed, softly modeled figure drawings that make him one of the most accomplished draftsmen of the French Neoclassical tradition. Prud'hon was known for his elegantly composed, softly modeled drawings of figures that combine the influence of the Italian Renaissance with the Neoclassical sensibility of his period, and his drawing style was enormously influential in the development of French draftsmanship. The 1800s drawing shows the influence of Prud'hon's softly modeled, elegantly composed manner on the anonymous artist who produced it.
Cultural Impact
Two Women is important in the history of French draftsmanship because it demonstrates the influence of Prud'hon's elegantly composed, softly modeled manner on 19th-century French drawing. Prud'hon's elegantly composed, softly modeled figure drawings—combining the influence of the Italian Renaissance with the Neoclassical sensibility of his period—were enormously influential in the development of French draftsmanship, and the 1800s drawing shows this influence in an anonymous work.
Why It Matters
Two Women is a drawing in the manner of Prud'hon: two women rendered in the softly modeled, elegantly composed manner of one of the most accomplished draftsmen of the French Neoclassical tradition. The 1800s drawing shows the influence of Prud'hon's distinctive manner on 19th-century French draftsmanship.
