Study for Aspasia on the Pnyx. c.1888. Pencil and black chalk on off-white paper; 171/8 X 22 inches (43.5 X 56 cm). Collection of Scott Thomas Buckle, London, U.K.
This is a study for the painting Holiday exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1888. It is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly it shows that Holiday, like his friends Burne-Jones, Moore, Poynter and Leighton, first painted his models in the nude before adding the draperies in order to achieve the correct underlying anatomy in his figures. Secondly, like his friend Moore, he used geometry in designing his paintings, in this case to find the vanishing point. This is definitely still a working drawing because Holiday was obviously considering a different placement of Aspasia’s right leg and the attendant’s right arm before deciding on the final positions seen in the finished painting.
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Created 19 January 2023