Studies of Dancing Female Figures in Drapery
Several nude and draped figures caught in movement
The sheet presents a group of female figures in swirling drapery, dancing or striding with arms raised and garments streaming behind them. Their poses are studied in rapid pen and wash, several repeated and overlapping across the width of the page. The drawing explores the movement of the body and the flow of drapery around it.
On this page
Group of dancing female figures
Three or more women are shown in energetic, dance-like poses, twisting at the waist with arms lifted. Their nude limbs and torsos are modelled with hatching, and the attitudes are varied and repeated across the sheet. The study concentrates on the human body in vigorous motion.
Streaming drapery in motion
Heavy folds of drapery swirl around the lower bodies of the figures and trail behind them as they move. The cloth is worked with deep shadow and highlight to convey its flow. Such drapery studies serve the depiction of movement in a picture.