Disembarking Figure: A Preliminary (Unused) Study for "The Landing of Columbus on San Salvador, October 12, 1492"

Artist John Vanderlyn (American, 1775 - 1852)

Datec. 1840

MediumCharcoal and white chalk on gray laid paper

DimensionsOverall: 23 × 18 1/2in. (58.4 × 47cm)

ClassificationsDRAWINGS

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2005.21

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Drawings

CopyrightNo known copyright restrictions.

Label TextVanderlyn was one of a small group of American-born artists including Benjamin West (1738-1820), John Trumbull (1756-1843) and Washington Allston (1779-1843) who sought to paint works depicting incidents drawn from American history. The idea that such paintings would encourage personal or civic virtue derives from French academic theory of the 17th-century. This drawing is an unused study, probably for the figure of Columbus, for the painting Vanderlyn executed for the rotunda of the United States Capitol, The Landing of Columbus on San Salvador, October 12, 1492. It is one of a large number of preliminary studies Vanderlyn made for this important commission and is the most recent addition to a collection of preliminary drawings for paintings that the Museum has acquired in recent years. PDS February 2006