Study for The Pleiades
Vedder developed his ideas for his oil painting “The Pleiades” (10.64.113) in several sketches, variously employing chalk, charcoal, pastel, and crayon. In this multi-figure study, he experimented with expressive hand gestures and the fall of classical drapery on semi-nude forms in rhythmic motion. The central figure is fully articulated, save the thread that has broken in her hands, a key narrative element evoking transience that is evident in the oil painting. The decorative aspects and lyricism of the individual figures suggest the influence of the English artists William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, who, like Vedder, produced illustrated versions of “Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.”
Artwork Details
- Title: Study for The Pleiades
- Artist: Elihu Vedder (American, New York 1836–1923 Rome)
- Date: 1883–84
- Culture: American
- Medium: Charcoal and white chalk on blue wove paper
- Dimensions: 24 1/2 × 20 in. (62.2 × 50.8 cm)
- Credit Line: Purchase, Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang Gift, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.127
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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