Study for "The Siege of Gibraltar": Three Figures

Study for "The Siege of Gibraltar": Three Figures

John Singleton Copley

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

After settling in London in the fall of 1775, Copley made drawings for most of his English paintings, especially his history paintings. For “The Siege of Gibraltar” (1783–91; Guildhall Art Gallery, London), a stirring depiction of the British defense of the Rock in 1779–82 against Spanish and French forces, Copley made nearly one hundred chalk, graphite, ink, and watercolor drawings. He worked on the painting for eight years, as he time and again altered and compromised his ideas according to the wishes of the members of the Corporation of the City of London, who had commissioned the painting. The extant drawings document the artist’s working method and his thought processes in the course of devising such a monumental work. This three-figure chalk drawing is probably a preliminary study for soldiers in the gunboat, although it was not used in the final composition. This drawing is squared for transfer to canvas and includes notations regarding that process.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Study for "The Siege of Gibraltar": Three FiguresStudy for "The Siege of Gibraltar": Three FiguresStudy for "The Siege of Gibraltar": Three FiguresStudy for "The Siege of Gibraltar": Three FiguresStudy for "The Siege of Gibraltar": Three Figures

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.