Back View of a Draped Male Figure Holding a Staff
March 24, 1859
Medium
Graphite
Dimensions
11 7/8 x 4 7/8 in. (30.2 x 12.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Mrs. Carl L. Selden Gift, in memory of Carl L. Selden, 1983
Accession Number
1983.305
Tags
Art Historical Context
This graphite drawing by Henri Lehmann, dated March 24, 1859, captures a male figure seen from behind, cloaked in flowing drapery and grasping a staff. Created during the height of France’s Second Empire, the work reflects the academic tradition Lehmann embraced after studying with Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Such studies of the human form were essential exercises for painters preparing larger compositions, allowing artists to explore anatomy, movement, and the fall of fabric with precision. Executed in graphite on paper measuring roughly 12 by 5 inches, the drawing highlights the medium’s...
About the Artist
Henri Lehmann
French, Kiel 1814–1882 Paris