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Peasant with Water Jug: Study for "The Well"

Daniel Ridgway Knight

American Art

Daniel Ridgway Knight created this meticulously executed drawing to establish a peasant girl’s pose and details of costume for his painting The Well (see illustration). The curving sway of her body as she holds a jug behind her back conveys an attitude of coy shyness.

Knight’s fine draftsmanship was the result of rigorous academic training that also emphasized the crucial function of preparatory studies in the creative process. For his highly successful, picturesque images of peasants, he hired models to pose for him wearing rustic attire that he provided.
MEDIUM Graphite on brown colored, medium weight, slightly textured wove paper
DATES ca. 1880
DIMENSIONS Sheet: 10 1/8 x 7 1/8 in. (25.7 x 18.1 cm)  (show scale)
SIGNATURE Initialed lower left in graphite: "D R K"
COLLECTIONS American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 1989.29.2
CREDIT LINE Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Milberg
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Figure traced on verso in graphite
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Daniel Ridgway Knight (American, 1839–1924). Peasant with Water Jug: Study for "The Well," ca. 1880. Graphite on brown colored, medium weight, slightly textured wove paper, Sheet: 10 1/8 x 7 1/8 in. (25.7 x 18.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Milberg, 1989.29.2 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1989.29.2_IMLS_PS3.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 1989.29.2_IMLS_PS3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 1/7/2010
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