Two Figure Studies: A Woman Standing and a Bearded Man Kneeling

Two Figure Studies: A Woman Standing and a Bearded Man Kneeling is a dynamic drawing by Eugène Delacroix, executed during the prolific period between 1820 and 1863. This preparatory work offers a vital look into the working methods of one of the 19th century’s leading French Romantic masters.

Classified specifically as a drawing, the piece utilizes the versatile combination of pen and brown ink for delineation, supplemented by brush and brown wash to define volume and shadow. Delacroix explores two distinct human postures on a single sheet: a fully modeled, standing woman, whose form is rendered with a strong concentration of wash, contrasts sharply with the more rapidly sketched, kneeling bearded man. The variation in tonal depth indicates the artist’s interest in how light falls across the subjects, a crucial consideration for developing dramatic narrative compositions.

As an artist renowned for capturing intense emotionality and theatrical action, Delacroix frequently relied on rapid life studies and anatomical observations to inform his grand history paintings. Such figure studies allowed him to master the complexities of human anatomy and movement necessary for his often turbulent scenes. The surviving drawings reveal the breadth of his practice, moving from quick notations to more resolved studies designed to establish pose and drapery.

This exemplary drawing is part of the extensive collection of European drawings and prints held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Pieces like this provide scholars intimate access to the technical process underlying Delacroix’s finished masterpieces. Today, high-quality reference prints and photographic materials related to this important preparatory work are often made accessible, reflecting its status in the public domain for ongoing art historical research into French Romanticism.