Study for "Hell"

1903-1916

John Singer Sargent

Associated Names
John Singer Sargent

Artist, American, 1856 - 1925

The sketch depicts a person in a reclined position, lying on their side on an abstract surface. Their left arm is extended outward, while their head rests on the left forearm. The drawing lacks fine facial details or clear hair details, focusing on the body's form and posture. The person seems unclothed with no visible accessories. The background is a plain surface. The sketch is done in soft pencil or charcoal on neutral-toned paper, emphasizing the body's contours with fluid, gestural lines.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Miss Emily Sargent and Mrs. Violet Sargent Ormond (sisters of the artist), Surrey, England; National Gallery (now known as the Smithsonian American Art Museum), Washington, DC, 1929, left in storage at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1949; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1999

  • "Sketch Everything and Keep Your Curiosity Fresh": Sargent Drawings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1999

2006

  • John Singer Sargent: Portraits and Models, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2006

Bibliography

1967

  • Gross, Ellen, and James Harithas. Drawings by John Singer Sargent in the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Alhambra, California: Borden, 1967.

1983

  • Simmons, Linda Crocker and with the assistance of Adrianne J. Humphrey, et al. American Drawings, Watercolors, Pastels, and Collages in the Collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1983: p. 107, no. 707.

  • Nygren, Edward J. John Singer Sargent: Drawings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1983, p. 67, no. 45.

Inscriptions

upper left in charcoal: Giuseppe Mancini; lower right edge in graphite by unknown hand: 17.2.5; upper left verso in graphite by unknown hand: 17.2.5; upper right verso in graphite by unknown hand: S.4.19; lower left verso in graphite by unknown hand: 17.2.5

Watermarks

MICHALLET

Wikidata ID

Q64584083

You may be interested in

Loading Results