Getty Museum

Three Young Women Drawing at a Table

Date

about 1778

Medium

Black chalk with selective wetting and pen and grayish-brown ink

Culture

French

Department

Drawings

Institution

Getty Museum

Object ID

7b5b2f7c-2131-4584-9da8-48f17e4e9781

In this domestic scene, three fashionable young women sit around a table, focused on the act of drawing. The small black chalk and pen and ink drawing, likely made in a sketchbook and later detached, represents the artist’s enduring interest in capturing scenes of everyday life. The intimate composition is closely cropped and seen from slightly above, focusing the viewer’s attention on the drawing table. Leaving the contents of the women’s notebooks unclear, Saint-Aubin instead focused his attention on the figures and their costumes. With their fine dresses and elaborate hairstyles, the three women do not appear to be in a formal drawing lesson, but rather participating in a cultivated pastime in the home. The sheet exemplifies Saint-Aubin’s mature style and tendency to mix techniques, first crafting his composition in black chalk before highlighting details, like the frills of a fashionable sleeve, in dark ink.

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