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Drapery Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen"

1817
Not on view
This sheet is a study for Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen, the assigned subject for the 1817 Prix de Rome competition, in which Lancrenon placed third. While the final painting’s location is unknown, this preparatory drawing focuses on the drapery of Helen. The nude male figure escorting her is outlined to her right. Lancrenon’s study echoes a practice promulgated in Jacques Louis David’s (French, 1748–1825) studio that encouraged studies of figures, nude and clothed, followed by sketches of heads. Here, the adept draftsman delineates Helen’s svelte form through long strokes of black chalk and subtle modeling with white—a style indebted to that of his teacher, Anne Louis Girodet-Trioson (French, 1767–1824).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Drapery Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen"
  • Artist: Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon (French, Lods 1794–1874 Lods)
  • Date: 1817
  • Medium: Black chalk, stumping, white chalk, and black crayon on buff laid paper
  • Dimensions: sheet: 17 15/16 x 12 in. (45.6 x 30.5 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Renée Sacks Bequest, 2005
  • Object Number: 2005.167.4
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Composition Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen", Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon French, Black chalk and black crayon on off-white laid paper; squared in red chalk
Composition Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen"
Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon
1817
Group of studies for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen", Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon French, See records for individual drawings
Group of studies for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen"
Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon
1817
Composition Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen", Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon French, Black crayon and stumping on blue laid paper
Composition Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen"
Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon
1817
Study of Heads for Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen", Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon French, Black crayon, stumping, and white chalk on buff laid paper
Study of Heads for Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen"
Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon
1817
Composition Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen", Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon French, Black crayon and stumping on off-white laid paper
Composition Study for "Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen"
Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon
1817

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