Seven Figure Sketches: Standing Female Nude with Fruit; Madonna and Child (?); Two Female Busts; Recumbent Semi-nude Figure, etc. (from Sketchbook)
1810–20
Medium
Ink, wash, on paper
Dimensions
9 x 11 1/2 in. (22.9 x 29.2 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.182.74 recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully's *Seven Figure Sketches* around 1810–20 offers a captivating glimpse into the working process of one of America's foremost painters. Born in England but thriving in Philadelphia, Sully was a master of the Romantic, blending British influences like Joshua Reynolds with a distinctly American flair. This sketchbook page, now in The Met's American Wing, captures his fluid exploration of the human form during his formative years, when he honed his skills through life drawing and classical studies. Rendered in ink and wash on a modest 9 x 11½-inch sheet, the composition brims with vit...
About the Artist
Thomas Sully · 1783–1872
Thomas Sully, born on June 19, 1783, in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, to actor parents Matthew Sully and Sarah Chester, emigrated with his family to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1792. Raised in a theatrical environment, young Thomas debuted as a tumbler at age 11 before discovering his artistic talent. He studied miniature painting with his brother Lawrence Sully, brother-in-law Jean Belzon...