Study for Astyanax’s Nurse

This drawing is a study for The Met's painting, Andromache and Astyanax, begun by Prud’hon in 1813 as a commission for Empress Marie-Louise. Left incomplete at the artist’s death in 1823, the canvas would be completed by his student, Charles Boulanger de Boisfremont (1773-1838). Quickly sketched in black and white chalk on blue paper, the study depicts Astyanax’s nurse, who, in the painting, sits in the right foreground facing Andromache, her arms extended towards her ward. Executed quickly, with brusque, energetic strokes, it intermixes parallel hatching in black and white chalk to effective model the heavy folds of the drapery and the highlights on the arms and face.

Credit: Gift of Louis de Bayser, 2015