Study of Arms for "The Cadence of Autumn" 1905

Evelyn De Morgan created this drawing – Study of Arms for "The Cadence of Autumn" – with colored chalk on paper. I can imagine her in her studio, circling around her model and sketching these arms over and over. She’s figuring it out through color, feeling the pull of the arm muscles through touch. There’s one arm bent across the picture plane, the hand curled delicately, but powerfully. And then another arm and hand, dangling, holding strands of hair maybe, or maybe that’s just how it’s been drawn. The artist is thinking of the whole composition, right? The arms, these little studies in brown and pink chalk, are full of intent. De Morgan is conjuring the final image in the process of drawing the parts. This is how the artist is finding her way, one touch at a time. Like all artists, De Morgan is in conversation with the work of other artists across time, inspiring creativity and generating new ideas.