1867
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Cats (recto); Sketch of Two Figures Embracing (verso) is a 1867 by Augustin Théodule Ribot, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a cat curled, stretched, and sitting—all on one side of a sheet of paper. Flip it, and two figures hug in quick pencil lines. Ribot drew whatever was in front of him, often on scraps he already had. This double-sided sketch probably started as a grocery list or a doodle, then became a place to practice shapes and shadows. The cat feels alive; the embrace feels quiet. Look up more drawings from The Cleveland Museum of Art to see how other artists used the back of the page.
Drawing was an essential part of Théodule Ribot's practice and he often sketched his environs from life. As a realist artist, Ribot favored humble subjects taken from everyday life. This double-sided sheet was likely one that he reused for two disparate images: a cat viewed from three angles, perhaps in his studio, and what appears to be a sculpture of two figures embracing.
Théodule Ribot's son, Germain, was also a genre painter.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Théodule-Augustin Ribot (French: ; August 8, 1823 – September 11, 1891) was a French realist painter and printmaker.
See the richer artist page
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