The image depicts a woman in a graceful, airborne pose with arms outstretched, holding billowing fabric. She has delicate facial features, wavy hair framing her face, and wears a flowing garment. The sketch is in charcoal or pencil with a plain background showing a faint grid pattern.
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A Muse

John Vanderlyn (American, 1775 - 1852)

1815/1818

Medium
charcoal and white chalk heightened with white on pinkish-tan paper, squared for transfer
Classification
Drawing
Dimensions
overall: 50.1 x 47 cm (19 3/4 x 18 1/2 in.)
Culture
American
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CG-W
Credit line
Gift of the Monica and Hermen Greenberg Foundation in honor of Monica Lind Greenberg
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art