1704
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Study of Hands (recto) is a 1704 by Pierre L'Enfant, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two hands, fingers tense, pulling a single thread between them. These hands might belong to a weaver at the Gobelins Manufactory, where Lenfant’s family lived after he sketched battles for Louis XV. The colored chalks make the skin look almost warm, like the light just caught it. To see how other artists drew hands with the same care, look up Pierre Lenfant (French, 1704–1787).
After Pierre Lenfant served as the official battlefield artist to King Louis XV in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), he and his family were awarded a lifetime residence at the royal Gobelins Manufactory on the outskirts of Paris. This delicate study in colored chalks may depict a weaver pulling threads in the textile factory.
This drawing is executed in a technique called trois crayons , referring to the three colors of chalk used by the artist. It was especially popular among artists in 18th-century France.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Pierre L'Enfant (August 26, 1704 – June 23, 1787) was an 18th-century French artist who was known for his battle scene paintings in the court of Louis XV.
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