Study for "Apollo and the Muses"
c. 1921
Medium
graphite on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (irregular): 37.31 × 55.72 cm (14 11/16 × 21 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Miss Emily Sargent and Mrs. Francis Ormond, sisters of the artist)
Accession Number
2015.19.630
Art Historical Context
John Singer Sargent, the renowned American expatriate artist celebrated for his elegant portraits and fluid brushwork, created this preparatory drawing around 1921 as a study for his monumental mural *Apollo and the Muses By this stage in his career, Sargent shifted from intimate society portraits to grand public commissions, including a series of mythological frescoes for the rotunda ceiling in Boston Public Library's McKim Building. This sketch captures the dynamic composition of Apollo leading the nine Muses in a procession, showcasing Sargent's skill in translating classical mythology into...
About the Artist
John Singer Sargent · 1856–1925
John Singer Sargent, born on January 12, 1856, in Florence to American expatriate parents FitzWilliam Sargent, an eye surgeon and medical illustrator, and Mary Newbold Singer, an amateur artist, enjoyed a nomadic childhood across Europe. His mother nurtured his artistic inclinations with sketchbooks and museum visits, while he received early watercolor lessons from German landscape painter Carl We...