Sketches: Cows; Two Female Portraits, One Crossed Out (from McGuire Scrapbook)
Original title: Sketches: Cows; Two Female Portraits, One Crossed Out (from McGuire Scrapbook)
kurzbeschreibung
This undated sheet by Emanuel Leutze holds a graphite drawing on cream-colored Bristol board. Measured at just 11.9 x 7.9 cm, the small page brings together two sketches of female portraits; one of them was heavily reworked and partly obscured with iron-gall ink. The drawing belongs to the so-called McGuire sketchbook.
Description
On the left a female figure is crossed over with dark strokes and black ink until she can barely be made out. Beside her, a second person is sketched in a seated pose with fine, clear graphite lines. Faint marks toward the back hint at further figures or objects. The inventory number "26.216.68" sits at the lower left.
Context
Emanuel Leutze (1816–1868) was a German-American painter best known for the history painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. This sheet comes from a sketchbook named after the collector McGuire. Exactly when it was made is not recorded; the mix of portrait and animal studies points to an informal working collection.
Impact
What strikes you first is the tension between the nearly destroyed figure on the left and the crisply outlined sketch on the right, a pull between erasure and precision. The tiny format gives the page an intimate, private feel, like a personal study sheet.
Technique
Graphite on off-white Bristol board forms the base of the drawing. On the left figure iron-gall ink was also applied and then partly removed, leaving the strong discoloration and obscuring marks. The right figure, by contrast, shows the artist's fine linear hand in pure graphite.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)