Seated Male Nude: Study for "Science" - Iowa State Capitol
1905
Medium
graphite pencil, squared in graphite, on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet: 40.5 × 28.1 cm (15 15/16 × 11 1/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
John Davis Hatch Collection
Accession Number
1979.20.21
Art Historical Context
Kenyon Cox’s 1905 drawing *Seated Male Nude: Study for “Science”* offers a fascinating glimpse into the careful preparation behind his mural for the Iowa State Capitol. Created in graphite pencil on laid paper and squared for transfer, the records the artist’s methodical approach to scaling a figure study to monumental proportions. The precisely ruled grid allowed Cox to enlarge the nude with accuracy when painting the final allegorical composition, a common practice among muralists of the American Renaissance. Measuring roughly 40 by 28 centimeters, the drawing demonstrates Cox’s academic tr...
About the Artist
Kenyon Cox · 1856–1919
Kenyon Cox (1856–1919) was born on October 27 in Warren, Ohio, to General Jacob Dolson Cox, a prominent politician and Civil War veteran, and Helen Finney Cox. Despite fragile health, young Cox pursued art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati before advancing to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In 1877, he traveled to Paris, studying first under Carolus-Duran, then at the Éco...