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Women dancing

Unknown

1650

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Baroque

Dominant colour

About this work

Two women dance in flowing robes, arms raised and bodies in motion. The drawing shows them mid-step, caught in a quiet moment of rhythm and grace. It was likely a plan for a carved stone or wood panel. Though we don’t know who drew it, the style links to Nicolas Poussin’s followers. They often worked in France and Italy, drawing myth scenes with moral lessons. The lines are built with small dots and marks to show shade and form. This method is called stippling. Look up technique: stippling to see how artists use dots to create depth and texture in drawings. (Word count: 98)

The story of this work

Overview

This drawing depicts two draped female figures dancing together while holding each other’s left hands, likely created as a design for a sculpted panel or low-relief. The work, once attributed to Nicolas Poussin, is now considered by some scholars to be by a close follower, possibly François Verdier, reflecting Poussin’s classical influences. Part of a series of 11 studies after antique models, the drawing evokes themes found in Pompeian frescoes and Poussin’s own relief-inspired compositions. The figures’ fluid poses and emphasis on contour align with 17th-century academic traditions…

Read the full account in the museum source.