Study of Hands (1842): Art, History and Details

Study of Hands (1842) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780–1867).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This sheet of studies was made as a preparatory design for a series of stained glass windows for the Chapel of Saint Ferdinand in Paris. Here, Jean- Auguste-Dominique Ingres sketched four sets of hands that seem to cascade down the page in one rhythmic motion, masterfully illustrating the beauty of mise en page. In his use of graphite, Ingres alluded to the metalpoint drawings of Raphael, intentionally channeling the Renaissance master.

Object facts

• Title: Study of Hands
• Date: 1842
• Creator attribution: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780–1867)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: graphite with traces of white heightening on ivory laid paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 31.2 x 23.6 cm (12 5/16 x 9 5/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - French
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2003.37

A detail from the museum

Ingres executed many studies for each of his stained glass designs, from preliminary sketches such as this one to full-scale cartoons.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Catalogue des tableaux anciens & modernes [. . .] composant la collection P.-A. Chéramy. Paris: Galerie Georges Petit, 1908.
• Catalogue de dessins, aquarelles, pastels anciens et modernes [. . .} composant la collection de M. Henri Haro. Paris: Hôtel Drouot, 1912.
• Exposition Ingres. Exh. cat. Paris: Georges Petit, 1921.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.