1810
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Study of a Nude Woman, Seated Looking to the Right (recto) is a 1810 by Pierre Paul Prud'hon, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman sits turned slightly away, her body lit softly from the side. She’s drawn in loose, flowing lines—no hard edges, just curves and shadows. Prud’hon sketched this woman, Marguerite, over and over. Most artists stopped drawing nudes after training, but he kept at it, even late in his career. No one knows why. The drawings were found in his studio after he died, stacked with others just like this one. Look up *sfumato*—the way he blurred edges to make her skin look real.
This sheet is notable in its presentation of a woman, specifically one of Pierre-Paul Prud’hon’s favorite models, Marguerite—known for her curly hair and striking appearance. Following the artist’s death, more than 100 drawings were discovered in his studio, each portraying a closely studied nude figure like those shown here. The context of these works remains unclear: artists typically sketched from a model early in their training, but Prud’hon did so as a well-established painter. He saw drawing as a solitary practice, working consistently with white and black chalks on a paper described by…
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon was raised in the Cluny abbey by monks, who recognized and encouraged his artistic talent as a boy.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (French pronunciation: , 4 April 1758 – 16 February 16, 1823) was a French Neo-classical painter and draughtsman best known in his own time for his allegorical paintings and portraits, now for his drawings.
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