The Hand of Poussin, after Ingres
Medium
Graphite
Dimensions
8 7/16 x 5 7/8 in. (21.4 x 14.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Alfred H. Barr Jr., 1987
Accession Number
1987.326
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the quiet tradition of artistic apprenticeship, Georges Seurat created *The Hand of Poussin, after Ingres* between 1875 and 1877, when he was just a teenager studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. This delicate graphite drawing faithfully copies Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres's celebrated rendition of Nicolas Poussin's hand nod to the 17th-century master's self-portrait. At 8 7/16 x 5 7/8 inches, it's an intimate study that captures Seurat's early precision, foreshadowing his later mastery of form in Pointillism. Graphite's subtle tonal range allowed Seurat to render the hand's anat...
About the Artist
Georges Seurat|Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres · 1859–1891
Georges Seurat (1859-1891) was the founder of Neo-Impressionism and the inventor of Pointillism, a revolutionary technique that transformed how artists understand and apply color. In a tragically brief career cut short at age 31, Seurat produced only seven monumental paintings, yet his systematic application of color theory fundamentally altered the direction of modern art. Born in Paris to a pro...