Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00010960Study of a Nude Woman, Seated Looking to the Right (recto) Study of a Male Nude (verso)
Also known as: Académie of a Nude Woman, Seated Looking to the Right (Académie de femme); Study of a Female Nude Looking to the Right
About the Artwork
This sheet is notable in its presentation of a woman, specifically one of Pierre-Paul Prud’hon’s favorite models, Marguerite—known for her curly hair and striking appearance. Following the artist’s death, more than 100 drawings were discovered in his studio, each portraying a closely studied nude figure like those shown here. The context of these works remains unclear: artists typically sketched from a model early in their training, but Prud’hon did so as a well-established painter. He saw drawing as a solitary practice, working consistently with white and black chalks on a paper described by one critic as “moonlit blue.”
Inscriptions
on recto, lower left, in red ink: stamp of Charles-Boulanger de Boisfremont [Lugt 353]; on verso, lower left, in black ink: stamp of Cleveland Museum of Art [Lugt 605e]; watermark, at bottom: unidentified, large chaplet. ON SEPERATELY APPLIED PIECES OF PAPER (now removed), printed in black ink: WALTER S. M. BURNS, ESQ. / To be Sold on giving up his Residence at 50, Grosvenor Street, W. / Sale - Sotheby [inscribed in black ink] / DAY OF SALE / Thursday, May 6th, 1926. ; printed in black ink: PIERRE PRUD'HON. / 134 Study of a Nude Woman seated looking to the Right / Black and white chalk on blue paper / 24 in. by 16 3/4 in. (610 mm. by 425 mm.) ; printed in black ink: 2.026
Provenance
c. 1810-1823: Studio of the artist, by descent to Charles Boulanger de Boisfremont 1823-1838: Charles Boulanger de Boisfremont [1773–1838], Paris, by descent to his son, M. de Boisfremont fils 1838-1870: M. de Boisfremont fils 1870: (his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, April 9, 1870, no. 49, sold to Dr. Malherbe) 1870-?: Dr. Malherbe after 1870-1926: Walter S. M. Burns [1872–1929], London, 1926: (his sale, Sotheby’s, London, May 6, 1926, no. 134) after 1926-1961: (Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH) 1961-: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962). Neo-classicism: Style and Motif. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 23-October 31, 1964). Drawings: France, Italy, Netherlands. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 1-March 24, 1965). French Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1965-February 16, 1966). Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 11-October 21, 1968). French Master Drawings of the 17th and 18th Centuries in North American Collections. Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA (September 2-October 15, 1972); Art Gallery of Ontario, Ontario M5T 1G4, Canada (organizer) (September 2-October 15, 1972); National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ont.,, Canada (November 3-December 17, 1972); The New York Cultural Center, New York, NY (April 4-May 13, 1973). Idea to Image: Preparatory Studies from the Renaissance to Impressionism. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 19-March 23, 1980). French Prints and Drawings in the Age of the Bourbons, 1589-1792. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 2-May 16, 1982). The Lessons of the Academy. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 8-May 29, 1983). National Schools of Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 14-September 18, 1983). Directions in Drawing II: The Human Figure. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1991-January 12, 1992). French Drawings from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1994-March 12, 1995). Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 20-June 11, 2023).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (French, 1758–1823)
- Date
- c. 1810
- Medium
- black and white chalk (both stumped)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Accession no.
- 1961.318
More by Pierre Paul Prud'hon in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00010960
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