Study of a female nude for 'The Ever Reigning Queen', by November 1880

Henry Hugh Armstead RA (1828 - 1905)

RA Collection: Art

This pencil drawing of a female nude is a preparatory study for Armstead's Royal Academy diploma work, a marble relief sculpture entitled 'The Ever Reigning Queen' (03/1671). The sculpture depicts the goddess Venus standing on a scallop shell and gliding through the sea on a dolphin's back. She is surrounded by swirling drapery and accompanied by birds and putti. This drawing is a study for the figure of Venus only, here undraped and with her left arm held slightly higher than in the finished relief and her head in a different position. This study is lightly drawn with a crisp outline but the upper body is given form by delicate shading which is echoed in the subtle, low-relief of the finished sculpture.