Young Man Seated on the ground with his left hand at his chest
18th century
Medium
Black chalk, heightened with white chalk on blue paper
Dimensions
14 5/16 x 9 3/16 in. (36.3 x 23.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Harry G. Sperling, 1971
Accession Number
1975.131.136
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate 18th-century French drawing, titled *Young Man Seated on the Ground with His Left Hand at His Chest*, captures a poignant moment of introspection. Created by an anonymous artist, it depicts a youthful male figure in a grounded, contemplative pose—seated with one hand pressed thoughtfully to his chest. Measuring 14 5/16 x 9 3/16 inches, the work exemplifies the intimate scale of period sketches, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Drawings and Prints, thanks to the 1971 bequest of Harry G. Sperling. Executed in black chalk heightened with white chalk on b...
About the Artist
Anonymous, French, 18th century · 1700–1800
The artist known as Anonymous, French, 18th century, represents a collective of unidentified talents active roughly between 1700 and 1800, a period of profound artistic evolution in France from the opulent Rococo to the austere dawn of Neoclassicism and Revolutionary fervor. Little is documented about their personal training or mentors, as their anonymity obscures individual biographies, though th...