Artwork
Musidora
Musidora is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Asher Brown Durand. It dates from 1825 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower center in graphite by unknown hand: proof; lower right corner in graphite by unknown hand: $25- text at bottom in plate: Designed & Engraved by A.B. Durand, New York 1825 / Musidora / with timid eye around / the banks surveying, stripp'd her beauteous limbs, / to taste the lucid coolness of the flood. / Printed by Burton & Valentine, New York / Thomson's Seasons.
- Markings
- Marked:stamped lower right verso in purple ink: Estate of Robert W. Weir / No. ____ [circled]
About this work
Overview
Created in 1825, Musidora is a black‑ink engraving on laid paper by American artist Asher Brown Durand. The work presents a solitary nude figure positioned within a cultivated landscape, rendered entirely through line and tone without any color. Its modest dimensions and print format reflect the early 19th‑century interest in disseminating images through reproducible media.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is a young woman, nude except for a draped cloth she grasps in one hand, standing amid foliage and a distant structure. Her expression is composed and slightly withdrawn, suggesting contemplation. The title, Musidora, derives from Greek roots meaning “music giver,” inviting an association between visual harmony and the lyrical connotations of the name.
Technique & Style
Durand employs a network of fine, cross‑hatching lines to model form, creating subtle gradations of shadow that lend the scene a sense of depth. The texture of the trees, the surface of the cloth, and the distant architecture are all suggested through variations in line density, demonstrating the engraving’s capacity to suggest three‑dimensional space using only ink on paper.
History & Provenance
Produced during Durand’s early career, Musidora predates his later prominence as a landscape painter of the Hudson River School. The print was likely issued in limited numbers for collectors interested in neoclassical subjects, though specific ownership records are scarce. Its survival in museum collections underscores its role in Durand’s development as a draftsman.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Asher Brown Durand spent his life in the rolling hills of New Jersey, where the forests and farmland shaped his quiet, deliberate way of seeing.
