Drapery Study for "A Venus"

Albert Joseph Moore

ca. 1868 · Black and white chalk on brown paper · Drawings and Prints

This sensitive study of semi-translucent drapery falling over the back of a chair relates to Moore's painting "A Venus" (1869; York Art Gallery). In the latter, a similar arrangement appears at left placed next to an idealized nude woman who stands before flowering branches and next to two vases. 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

ca. 1868

Medium

Black and white chalk on brown paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

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