Study Of Two Arms, By George Washington (1827–1901)

Black pencil, brown pencil, and white chalk on blue paper; “Atelier G. Washington” stamp on the front, Paul and Laurence Vercier Collection (L.3607) stamp on the back; view size 38.7 x 19.4 cm

As an illegitimate child, Georges (with an S) Washington chose as his pseudonym the name of the first president of the United States, whom his father admired. He studied painting under François-Édouard Picot, a painter of history and battle scenes, then traveled to Algeria, Morocco, Hungary, Turkey, the United States, and other places. He later settled in Brittany. Inspired by the works of the Orientalist painters Eugène Fromentin and Eugène Delacroix, he painted primarily scenes from North Africa: horsemen, encampments, hunting scenes, and so on.

The drawing presented here depicts two studies of arms, one presumably holding the scabbard of a sword, the other brandishing the shaft of a flag. These studies, which highlight the model’s musculature, are most likely preparatory sketches for one of the artist’s paintings.