Science Instructing Industry: Drapery Study
Kenyon Cox
1898 · Graphite on off-white laid paper mounted on secondary support of Egyptian linen · The American Wing
Cox created multiple preparatory studies for his oil painting Science Instructing Industry (1898; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland) (see also 50.101.1 and 50.101.2). Committed to precision, the painter used a grid system to ensure that the composition was properly proportioned, an important skill he developed during his student years at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In this specific study, Cox carefully mapped out every wrinkle and fold of the fabric, emulating the example of classical Greek sculpture. Like other painters associated with the American Renaissance, Cox contrived to let the female form assume various allegorical guises by simply changing the props, setting, or title according to the requirements of a project.
- Artist
- Kenyon Cox
- Date
- 1898
- Medium
- Graphite on off-white laid paper mounted on secondary support of Egyptian linen
- Culture
- American
- Department
- The American Wing
- Credit line
- Francis Lathrop Fund, 1950
