Sketch of Arm and Sketch of Two Hands

Thomas Hovenden

1867

gouache

From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Romanticism Late 19th Century woman

About this work

This sketch shows a woman’s arm bent at the elbow and two hands, one relaxed, one gripping. The lines are light and loose, almost like quick notes. White gouache—an opaque watercolor—adds soft highlights to her skin. Hovenden often drew hands like this, full of life and quiet feeling. The paper’s tan color keeps the focus on the delicate shading. See it in person at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.