1959.3.4
Drapery Study for Figure 'Venice'
Artist
Kenyon Cox
(Warren, Ohio, 1856 - 1919, New York City, New York)
Title
Drapery Study for Figure 'Venice'
Creation Date
1893
Century
19th century
Object Type
drawing
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
pastel on paper
Credit Line
Gift of Colonel Leonard Cox, Mrs. Caroline Cox Lansing, and Mr. Allyn Cox
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
1959.3.4
Having been commissioned to create an allegorical mural of the city of Venice for the Rotunda of the Museum’s Walker Art Building, New York artist Kenyon Cox embarked on a series of preparatory studies in graphite. Before working in oil, he used pastels to introduce color into the composition. A comparison between this drawing and the finished mural indicates that Cox’s ideas for the central figure of Venice changed little after he completed this drawing. Both the pose and the choice of colors remained remarkably similar. At least one later study in oil was completed, though it was the medium of pastel that was most useful for developing the painting’s color scheme.