Image

Preparatory sketch done in black chalk with many ill-defined figures circumscribed by minimal marks. At center is a seated figure being presented a bolt of cloth by two faceless others.

François Boucher

Hecuba Presents a Garment as a Gift to Athena

Description

Maker

François Boucher (French, 1703-1770)

Title

Hecuba Presents a Garment as a Gift to Athena

Year

1735-1750

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

chalk

Supports

Dimensions

17.8 x 26 cm (7 x 10 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed in pen and ink, LL: "f.B"

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of the Joseph F. McCrindle Collection in memory of Robert Chambers

Object Number

2009.49.4

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Drawing Closer
Four Hundred Years of Drawing from the RISD Museum
Mar 12, 2022 – Sep 04, 2022

Label copy

This dynamic sketch loosely outlines an episode from Homer’s Iliad, in which the Trojan queen, Hecuba, tried to appease the goddess Athena with a gift of her most precious garment. Boucher liked to use black chalk for quick compositional sketches. His use of the medium is characterized by energy and fluidity, with lines of different strength swerving, interweaving, and multiplying into patterns. The heads of the figures, rendered as blank ovals, highlight the drawing’s swift and confident execution.

Use & Feedback

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

François Boucher (French, 1703-1770)
Hecuba Presents a Garment as a Gift to Athena, 1735-1750
Black chalk on laid paper
17.8 x 26 cm (7 x 10 1/4 inches)
Bequest of the Joseph F. McCrindle Collection in memory of Robert Chambers 2009.49.4

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