Artwork

A Reclining Nude with Her Right Arm Raised over a Swift Composition Study [verso]

A Reclining Nude with Her Right Arm Raised over a Swift Composition Study [verso] is a chalk drawing by the Romanticist artist Jean-Baptiste Deshays. It dates from 1763 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Jean‑Baptiste Deshays produced this drawing around 1763. Executed in black chalk with occasional red chalk accents on buff‑colored laid paper, the work records a reclining female figure whose right arm is lifted above her head. The piece is a study rather than a finished composition, intended to explore gesture and form.

Subject & Meaning

The image presents a nude woman lying on a couch or bed, her posture suggesting a moment of relaxed movement. The raised arm creates a dynamic line that contrasts with the horizontal line of the body, emphasizing the play of tension and ease within the figure’s pose.

Technique & Style

Deshays employed loose, rapid strokes that give the drawing a sketch‑like quality. Predominantly rendered in black chalk, the artist introduced touches of red chalk to warm selected areas, adding subtle tonal variation to the otherwise monochrome surface. The background consists of swirling, gestural lines that convey energy rather than a defined setting.

History & Provenance

Created in the mid‑eighteenth century, the work reflects Deshays’s practice of producing preparatory studies for larger compositions. Its provenance prior to the present collection is not documented, and the verso bears a related swift composition study, indicating it may have been part of a series of gesture exercises.