Sketchbook, page 123: Female Figure
1905
This graphite sketch by Maurice Prendergast demonstrates the artist's characteristic loose, gestural approach to figurative drawing. The work exemplifies Prendergast's interest in capturing the essence of the human form through economical linework rather than detailed anatomical rendering. As a page from the artist's sketchbook, it provides insight into his working process and his ongoing exploration of figure studies that would inform his more finished paintings and prints.
- Medium
- graphite
- Location
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Spotted works by Maurice Prendergast
Artists in conversation
Édouard Vuillard
French · b. 1868
Vuillard created intimate graphite and pencil figure studies with a similarly loose gestural economy of line, capturing the essence of the human form through minimal marks rather than detailed anatomical precision. His sketchbook works share Prendergast's Post-Impressionist decorative sensibility and focus on female figures in understated, intimate moods.
Pierre Bonnard
French · b. 1867
Bonnard's graphite figure sketches demonstrate the same economical linework and gestural approach to capturing female forms that defines this Prendergast page, with both artists favoring suggestion over strict anatomical rendering. His Post-Impressionist sketchbook studies share the intimate working process quality and decorative aesthetic present in this piece.
John Sloan
American · b. 1871
As a contemporary American artist working in the early 20th century, Sloan produced graphite figure studies with comparable loose gestural linework and a similar interest in capturing female figures through economical sketching rather than finished rendering. His sketchbook drawings reflect the same intimate working process sensibility that characterizes this Prendergast page.
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