Thalia
c. 1797
Medium
Brush and brown ink, with brown wash over traces of graphite, on ivory wove paper, laid down on cream laid paper
Dimensions
20.9 × 17.2 cm (8 1/4 × 6 13/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
114970
Art Historical Context
**Thalia** by D. Watson, created around 1797, captures the essence of the classical muse of comedy and bucolic poetry from Greek mythology This intimate drawing, housed in the Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings department, invites viewers into a world where artistic inspiration meets whimsy. At just 20.9 × 17.2 cm, its small scale suggests it was perhaps a personal study or preparatory work, evoking the Enlightenment-era fascination with antiquity and the muses as symbols of creativity. Executed in brush and brown ink with brown wash over faint graphite traces on ivory wove paper—then lai...