1704
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Study of Hands (recto); Sketch of a Hand (verso) is a 1704 by Pierre L'Enfant, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two careful drawings of hands on opposite sides of the same sheet—one holding a thread, the other just a quick sketch. Lenfant drew these while living at the royal tapestry factory. The hands might belong to a weaver at work, pulling gold or silk threads for a king’s wall hanging. The lines are soft, almost like the chalk is still warm. Look up *sfumato*—the way Lenfant blurred edges to make the fingers feel alive.
After Pierre Lenfant served as the official battlefield artist to King Louis XV in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), 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.
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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