Man Reaching Down and Two Studies of Heads (recto)
before 1698
Medium
red and black chalks heightened with white on brown paper
Dimensions
sheet: 38.4 × 25.9 cm (15 1/8 × 10 3/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Joseph F. McCrindle Endowment Fund and Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
2017.86.1.a
Art Historical Context
Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet, prominent French Baroque artist (1644–1717), created *Man Reaching Down and Two of Heads (recto before 1698. This preparatory drawing exemplifies the studies favored by painters of the Académie Royale, where Jouvenet served as a leading figure. Working in the grand style of history painting influenced by masters like Rubens and Charles Le Brun, Jouven often produced such sketches to refine poses and expressions for larger commissions, capturing the dramatic energy of the era under Louis XIV. Executed in and black chalks heightened with white on brown paper, the sheet m...