The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 5, 2026

A vertically oriented black and white chalk drawing on blue-gray paper depicts three figures loosely outlined and shaded by diagonal streaks. Centrally, a woman in a long shawl holds the hand of a small child on our left. To her right, another woman stands further back holding a woven basket. White highlights accentuate their garments and facial features, creating volume against the cool, predominantly dark-toned paper.

Three Figures

18th century

Pierre-Jacques Volaire

(French, 1729–1802)
France, 18th century
black and white chalk on blue-gray prepared paper
Sheet: 26.3 x 21 cm (10 3/8 x 8 1/4 in.)
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2018.48
Location: Not on view

Description

Volaire’s sketch of two women with a child is an example of the numerous figure studies he executed on blue-gray prepared paper with black and white chalk. This drawing likely did not relate to a later painting, but instead seems to have been produced as a visual record of the artist’s creative experimentation.
  • Beck-Saiello, Emilie, and Pierre-Jacques Antoine Volaire. Pierre Jacques Volaire, 1729-1799: dit le Chevalier Volaire. Paris: Arthena, 2010. pp. 375-376, entry # DI.21
  • {{cite web|title=Three Figures|url=false|author=Pierre-Jacques Volaire|year=18th century|access-date=05 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.48