Artwork
Young Woman Sewing with a Dog Resting on Her Lap
Young Woman Sewing with a Dog Resting on Her Lap is a chalk drawing by the Romanticist artist Johann Gottlieb Glume. It dates from 1754 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right in red chalk: J. G. Glume / Fc.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Johann Gottlieb Glume's 1750 red chalk drawing depicts a young adult woman engaged in sewing, with a dog resting on her lap.
Johann Gottlieb Glume's 1750 red chalk drawing depicts a young adult woman engaged in sewing, with a dog resting on her lap. The pairing of domestic needlework and a companion animal was a familiar motif in eighteenth-century genre imagery, where the act of sewing signaled feminine virtue, diligence, and the quiet order of the household interior.
The dog curled against the seated figure reinforces this theme of domestic harmony and fidelity, animals of this kind traditionally standing for loyalty and the affectionate bonds of home life. Rendered in red chalk on laid paper, the intimate scale of the composition, 33 by 20.5 centimeters, suits its focus on a private, everyday moment rather than a narrative or allegorical event, presenting the woman's labor and her pet as emblems of idealized domestic contentment.
Technique & Style
Created in 1750, Young Woman Sewing with a Dog Resting on Her Lap is a drawing executed in red chalk on laid paper. The work measures 33 cm in height and 20.5 cm in width. As a chalk drawing, the medium allows for the soft modeling of the young woman and her dog, capturing the intimate domestic scene of sewing.
The support consists of laid paper, a material characteristic of 18th-century European drawings. The piece remains in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
History & Provenance
Johann Gottlieb Glume executed this red chalk drawing on laid paper in 1750. The work's modern ownership history begins with its appearance at a sale held by Galerie Bassenge on November 26, 2010, where it was listed as lot number 6282. Following this auction, the piece passed through the firm C. G. Boerner in New York.
Later in 2010, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., purchased the drawing, where it remains in the collection.
The drawing by Johann Gottlieb Glume titled Young Woman Sewing with a Dog Resting on Her Lap is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was acquired in 2010 through a sale at Galerie Bassenge on 26 November 2010 (sale no. 6282) and subsequently purchased by the National Gallery of Art. Prior to its acquisition, the work passed through the gallery of C. G. Boerner in New York.
Overview
Johann Gottlieb Glume’s drawing, dated around 1754, presents a domestic scene in which a young woman is engaged in sewing while a dog rests on her lap. Executed in red chalk on laid paper, the work captures a quiet moment of everyday life, emphasizing the calm interaction between the figure and her animal companion.
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