Study of an Angel in Rubens' "The Prophet Elijah"
1894
graphite
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1894
graphite
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This sketch shows a quick, loose drawing of a nude figure tangled in branches. The lines are rough and fast, almost like scribbles. The paper is yellowed, and the whole thing looks like a page torn from a sketchbook. The artist didn’t smooth out the strokes—just let the pencil move freely. This was likely practice for a bigger work, not a finished piece. Next, check out Cezanne, Paul to see how he turned sketches like this into famous paintings.
