Statue of Crouching Venus
1774
Medium
Charcoal with stumping and touches of black crayon on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
50.4 × 39.3 cm (19 7/8 × 15 1/2 in.)
Classification
charcoal
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
83243
Art Historical Context
John Downman's *Statue of Crouching* (1774) captures the timeless grace of a classical antiquity in a delicate drawing executed during the height of the British Grand Tour era. This British artist, renowned for his intimate portraits and figure studies, rendered the iconic Hellenistic sculpture—known as the Venus Pudica for its modest pose—with a sensitivity that bridges Rococo elegance and emerging Neoclassicism. Created on ivory laid paper, the work measures 50.4 × 39.3 cm and resides in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings collection. Downman employed masterful charcoal techn...
About the Artist
John Downman · 1750–1824
John Downman (1750–1824) was born in Ruabon, near Wrexham, in North Wales. His artistic inclinations proved stronger than any legal ambitions his family held for him, and he began his formal training in Liverpool before enrolling in 1769 among the first intake of students at the newly established Royal Academy Schools in London. There he studied under Benjamin West. In 1773, Downman deepened his e...