Sketches of Male Profiles, Couple Embracing
n.d.
Medium
Graphite and pen and brown ink, on cream laid paper
Dimensions
14.8 × 18.9 cm (5 7/8 × 7 1/2 in.)
Classification
graphite
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
95802
Art Historical Context
Thomas Stothard (1755–1834), a prolific British artist of the Romantic era, was celebrated for his delicate figure studies, book illustrations, and history paintings infused with neoclassical grace and emotional warmth. This undated sheet, *Sketches of Male, Couple Embracing*, his skill in capturing the human form with fluidity and expressiveness. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings department, it offers a glimpse into Stothard's preparatory process, likely sketched during the late 18th or early 19th century Britain's burgeoning interest in intimate, narrative scenes. Ren...
About the Artist
Thomas Stothard · 1755–1834
Thomas Stothard RA (1755–1834) was born on 17 August 1755 at the Black Horse Inn in London's Long Acre, the son of a prosperous publican originally from Stutton near Tadcaster. A delicate child, he was sent at age five to relatives in Yorkshire, attending schools in Acomb, Tadcaster, and later Ilford, Essex, where he honed his drawing skills by copying prints. Following his father's death in 1770,...