Specimens of Polyautography: Boy Seated on a Grassy Bank

1803

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Specimens of Polyautography: Boy Seated on a Grassy Bank is a 1803 by Thomas Barker, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Thomas Barker
When & what style?: 1803 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This sketch shows a boy sitting on a grassy bank, one leg bent and the other stretched out. He’s wearing a loose jacket and has a calm, slightly serious expression. In his lap is a bundle of sticks or branches, and the drawing is made with quick, sketchy lines. The artist used simple lines to show light and shadow, giving the boy’s face and clothes a soft, almost three-dimensional look. This style was common in early 19th-century sketches. Check out chiaroscuro to see how artists used light and shadow like this.