Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Preview image of work. charcoal on blue-gray laid paper, Drapery Study 2063

1930.74

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Drapery Study

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Artist

John Singer Sargent (Florence, Itay, 1/12/1856 - 4/14/1925, London, United Kingdom)

Title

Drapery Study

Creation Date

ca. 1910-1916

Century

early 20th century

Dimensions

23 13/16 in. x 18 5/16 in. (60.48 cm x 46.51 cm)

Object Type

drawing

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

charcoal on blue-gray laid paper

Credit Line

Gift of Miss Emily Sargent and Mrs. Francis Ormond

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

1930.74

In 1890, architect Charles McKim secured John Singer Sargent as the designer of the “Triumph of Religion,” the mural cycle in the Boston Public Library. Sargent finished the work in 1919. In preparation of the large-scale decoration, Sargent created hundreds of large charcoal studies based on his observation of models and then coordinated the size, position, form, and perspective of the figurative scenes. Charcoal facilitates quick, dark, gestural marks as well as blending and provides a tool to gain an understanding of the modeled forms through experimentation with light and shadow prior to painting. This drawing is a study for the Angel of Mercy in the “Sorrowful Mysteries,” a section of the “Mysteries of the Rosary.” Sargent focused on the positioning and volume of the angel’s robe.