Drapery Study for "Battledore" (recto); Two Women (verso)

Albert Joseph Moore

1868–70 · Black conté crayon and white chalk on brown paper (recto); black chalk (verso) · Drawings and Prints

This sensitive study of artfully arranged semi-translucent drapery hanging over a line relates to Moore's painting "Battledore" (1868–70; Minneapolis Institute of Art). In the latter, a similar cloth forms a backdrop for a young woman dressed in classical robes as she holds a racket ahd shuttlecock (battledore is an old name for badminton). The artist was a leader of the Aesthetic Movement whose proponents believed subject matter to be less important than beautifully arranged forms and harmonious colors. When preparing a composition, Moore made studies of figures, draperies and details which reveal how his ideas developed. His choice of rough brown paper to serve a support for studies was taken up by James McNeill Whistler who used it for pastel drawings.

Artist

Albert Joseph Moore

Date

1868–70

Medium

Black conté crayon and white chalk on brown paper (recto); black chalk (verso)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of James David Draper and the Robert Isaacson Collection, 2020