The Water Carriers
Medium
Graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 17 1/4 x 13 in. (43.8 x 33 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1909
Accession Number
10.47
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the serene world of late 19th-century drawings, *The Water Carriers* (1895) by James Thomas stands out as a delicate graphite study, measuring 17 1/4 x 13 inches. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Drawings and Prints, work—acquired through the Rogers Fund in 1909—captures the everyday grace of women engaged in a timeless labor. Graphite, a versatile medium favored by artists for its precision and subtle tonal range, allows Thomas to render soft textures and fluid lines, evoking the quiet rhythm of daily life. Created during the fin de siècle period, when European art...