Two Architectural Sketches; Three Men Seated at Table; Child Holding Pet in Landscape; Figure Appearing Behind Corner; Scene from Julius Ceasar (from Sketchbook)
1810–20
Medium
Ink, wash, on paper
Dimensions
9 x 11 1/2 in. (22.9 x 29.2 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.182.17 recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Sully, one of America's leading portrait painters in the early 19th century, his sketchbooks with lively preparatory drawings that reveal his versatility beyond formal portraits. This page from a sketchbook, dated 1810–20, captures a delightful array of vignettes: two architectural sketches, three men seated intently at a table, a tenderly holding a pet in a landscape, a mysterious figure peeking from behind a corner, and a scene from Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar*. Created during Sully's mature Philadelphia years, these quick studies reflect his neoclassical influences from British mast...
About the Artist
Thomas Sully · 1783–1872
Thomas Sully, born on June 19, 1783, in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, to actor parents Matthew Sully and Sarah Chester, emigrated with his family to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1792. Raised in a theatrical environment, young Thomas debuted as a tumbler at age 11 before discovering his artistic talent. He studied miniature painting with his brother Lawrence Sully, brother-in-law Jean Belzon...