Draped Woman, Seen From Back n.d.

Francois Boucher created this drawing of a draped woman in France, most likely in the mid-18th century, using red chalk on paper. It presents a woman from behind, her hair tied up, draped in fabric that suggests classical statuary. In Boucher’s time, the French Academy was central to artistic training and taste. Artists routinely made drawings like this one to practice depicting the human form and drapery. But such sketches also played a role in a booming art market where collectors prized the artist’s hand. Boucher was a master of the sketch, and his works were highly sought after. The image is tied to the aesthetic values of its time, to the institutions that formed artists, and to the markets that gave value to their work. Understanding such drawings involves archival research into the art market and the Academy. We see the values and norms of a society reflected in what it chooses to depict, and how.