Study for 'The Bath of Psyche': Psyche, Hands

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Drawing details

Title: Study for 'The Bath of Psyche': Psyche, Hands
Date: c.1889
Media: Black and white chalk on brown paper
Dimensions: 29.2 x 36.9 cm
Location: Leighton House Museum
Picture credit: Leighton House Museum, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Reference number: LHO/D/0687
Inscriptions: Stamped lower left "LLC" encircled, in black ink. Inscribed lower left "Bath of Psyche" in pencil. Inscribed on reverse "E49" in pencil.

Description

Left of sheet: full-length study for Psyche and the drapery she holds in the painting 'The Bath of Psyche' (1890, Tate). The pose is very similar to the finished work although the head is held more upright. Upper centre of sheet: full-length nude study of a standing female figure, turned to the left. Her left hand is held horizontally, away from her body and her right hand is held near her right should. Each hand holds drapery which rests across the shoulders and falls to the ground behind the figure. The left leg is slightly bent and the head faces the viewer. Lower centre of sheet: study for the left and right hand of Psyche. Upper right of sheet: outline of a rectangle, possibly an indication of the proportion of the painting 'The Bath of Psyche'. Lower right of sheet: study for the right hand of Psyche. 

Provenance

Bequeathed by the artist to his sisters, Mrs. Augusta Matthews (n+e Augusta Neunburg Leighton, 1835-1919) and Mrs. Alexandra Orr (n+e Alexandra Leighton, 1828-1903); purchased by the Fine Art Society in 1896; collection of Leighton House Museum 

Bibliography

• Barrington, Mrs. Emilie Isabel, 'Catalogue: Lord Leighton's House and What it Contains', 1900, Leighton House, London, p.171 catalogue number 59c
• Ormond, Leon+e and Richard, 'Lord Leighton', Yale University Press, London, 1975, p.170 (listed under catalogue number 350)
• Staley, Edgcumbe, 'Lord Leighton of Stretton, P.R.A.', The Walter Scott Publishing Company, London, 1906, p.214 

Exhibition history

• 09 April 1900 to at least 1936, 'The Leighton House Collection' (intended to be a permanent display), Leighton House Museum, London, catalogue number 59c (exhibited in the Silk Room)
• 1969, 'Display of Drawings and Paintings in the Winter Studio and Perrin Gallery', Leighton House Museum, catalogue number 1