Classical Nudes (recto); Classical Statuary (verso) (Main View)

Théodore Géricault relied only on broad outlines and richly applied washes to produce the muscular bodies of these two nudes. He reused a sheet covered with pencil drawings, creating new, more powerful forms that contrast linearity with volume. He may have sketched them at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he copied antique statues for practice.

The figures on the verso are less inventive and more orderly, arranged in two neat rows. Using pen and ink to cover older pencil drawings of studies of heads, Géricault again copied antique statues, including several in classical armor as well as the figures of Cupid and Psyche. Most of these figures are simple outlines, while others have a delicately applied wash.