Five studies of a female nude leaning on a table and seated with a lute

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Five studies of a female nude leaning on a table and seated with a lute

William Blake Richmond

c. 1880

Pencil, on paper watermarked 'MILL KENT 1863'

14 5/8 x 11 1/4 inches (36 X 28.5 cm)

Studies for the painting The Wise and Foolish Virgins [compare a single-figure study.]

Commentary by Hilary Morgan

The picture for which this is a study was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1881, number 75, It was later exhibited at the Munich International Exhibition in 1888 and at the New Gallery in 1900-1901. The subject derives from Christ's parable, told in Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 25. Richmond conceived the composition while staying at Assisi in 1880. Its present whereabouts are unknown, but it was reproduced in Henry Blackburn's Grosvenor Notes (1881), page 29.

Richmond worked in the high art tradition of Leighton and Watts. This is revealed by his choice of a religious subject and, in the present drawing, by his production of nude studies for clothed figures and his interest in the underlying structure of the human figure. [William Blake Richmond exhibited at The Fine Art Society in 1912, 1914 and 1921. GPL]

References

Morgan, Hilary and Nahum, Peter. Burne-Jones, The Pre-Raphaelites and Their Century. London: Peter Nahum, 1989. Catalogue number 125.

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Last modified 20 May 2007