The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake

1873

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Thomas Eakins

(American, 1844–1916)

Culture

America

Medium

graphite and brush and brown wash

Measurements

Sheet: 35.5 x 43.1 cm (14 x 16 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1942.1066

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Location

Not on view

Description

Before beginning a large-scale painting such as The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake, Eakins began a series of specialized studies. He outlined the space of the composition with perspective drawings, such as this sketch in graphite. Eakins also used figure studies when rendering a work, as well as landscape and architectural drawings and his own photographs (examples of which are elsewhere in the exhibition). The practice of using perspective drawings to work out the space of a painting dates back to the Renaissance, revealing Eakins’s academic training.