Sketches of Two Women, a Man Fighting a Beast, Two Furniture Fragments (from Sketchbook) 1810 - 1820

Thomas Sully created this pen and ink sketch, titled "Sketches of Two Women, a Man Fighting a Beast, Two Furniture Fragments," sometime during his lifetime, which stretched from 1783 to 1872. Sully lived during a time of immense social change, as enlightenment ideals met the realities of industrialization and colonialism. He made his name as a portrait painter to the wealthy. But here, in the privacy of his sketchbook, he captured glimpses of classical forms and emotional intensity that reveal a more intimate side of his artistic practice. The figures—some draped in classical garb, others seemingly caught in moments of embrace or conflict—evoke the romanticism of the era, which was shaped by the social upheavals of the French Revolution. Sully's focus on the human form, engaged in moments of contemplation or struggle, speaks to the complex interplay between individual experience and the broader narratives of history and myth. The sketch may reflect the artist’s own negotiation of his identity within a rapidly changing world.