Sketches: Profile Heads, Coins or Medals (recto); Trees (verso)
c. 1885
Medium
Watercolor and graphite on cream laid paper
Dimensions
24.4 × 34.4 cm (9 5/8 × 13 9/16 in.)
Classification
watercolor
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
113961
Art Historical Context
Henri Cros's *Sketches: Profile Heads, Coins or Medalsrecto); Trees (o)*, created around 1885, offers a fascinating glimpse into the artist's versatile sketchbook practice. Rendered in watercolor and graphite on cream laid paper (24.4 × 34.4 cm), the recto features precise profiles evoking classical coins or medals—likely studies inspired by antiquity—while the verso captures flowing trees, blending human form with nature. This dual-sided composition exemplifies the economical use of paper common among 19th-century draftsmen. Cros, a French artist renowned for his innovative enamel and cerami...