Nuns

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

In this drawing, a group of young nuns gather to pray. The unknown French artist used white chalk to delicately highlight the central figure with clasped hands. The work suggests the new style and subject matter that proliferated throughout France during the mid-19th century when an emerging middle-class audience became interested in collecting art and viewing it in exhibitions such as the Paris Salon. This drawing’s anonymous artist used a combination of black and white chalk to create a dramatic pattern of highlights and shadows.