Study for Cassandra Raving
Maker
George Romney
(British, 1734-1802)
ClassificationsDRAWINGS
Daten.d.
Mediumpen and brush and brown ink over traces of graphite on laid paper
Dimensions18 1/2 × 11 in. (47 × 27.9 cm.)
MarkingsVerso Pen and wash study of a seated woman and child.
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Label TextThis drawing likely relates to Romney’s portrait of Emma Hart as the figure of Circe in a full-length oil painting from 1782. The vivacious young beauty was the artist’s inspiration for a series of fancy portraits in which she is cast in a variety of imaginative roles. In Homer’s Odyssey, the enchantress Circe turns Odysseus’s crew into swine before becoming his lover. Here, Romney creates a sense of power and movement through the surging figure’s raised arm and billowing sash. With her wide, staring eyes and powerful gestures, she is a vision of dangerous femininity (2022).Status
Not on viewObject number63.6
Terms
