Study of an Elderly Woman for "Disobedience Discovered"
c. 1797
Medium
black chalk with gray wash and white heightening on blue-green prepared paper
Dimensions
Overall: 24.2 x 18.2 cm (9 1/2 x 7 3/16 in.) support: 30.6 x 24.2 cm (12 1/16 x 9 1/2 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Julius S. Held Collection
Accession Number
1985.1.64
Art Historical Context
James Ward's *Study of an Elderly Woman for "Disobedience Discovered"* (c. 1797) offers a poignant glimpse into the preparatory process of this British artist's ambitious history painting. Ward (1769–1859), a celebrated Romantic-era draftsman and Royal Academician known for his dramatic animal studies and landscapes, drew inspiration from 17th-century masters like Rubens. This intimate black chalk drawing captures the expressive face and weathered features of an elderly woman, likely portraying a figure of moral reckoning in the larger narrative scene—perhaps evoking themes of consequence and ...
About the Artist
James Ward
James Ward was a prolific engraver, known as the most important animal painter of his generation in England. His work is characterized by subjects that are very animated, typically including horses, dogs or wild animals in agitated emotional states, the sense of movement being reinforced by vigorous brushwork and strong colors. His compositions are set in sweeping landscapes and dramatic skies, in...