Two Young Women Seated on the Ground [recto]

Charles de La Fosse

National Gallery of Art

The image features a drawing of two seated women shown from approximately the waist up, positioned closely together. The woman on the left faces forward and slightly turns toward the woman on the right. She has softly styled hair, refined facial features, and a calm expression, and appears to have pushed sleeves on her garment. The woman on the right is seated with one arm resting on her knee, with a gentle expression and similarly styled hair. She wears draping clothing that suggests the texture and volume of the fabric. Both women are depicted in a loose, sketch-like technique with soft lines and shading, creating a sense of depth and movement. The drawing uses red chalk on light brown paper, with visible lines and marks indicating the contour and shadows of the subjects. In the background, there is a faint suggestion of shading indicating a surface the women might be sitting on. A third hand and partial arm are sketched reaching into the scene from off the page. Numbers and markings are visible near the upper right corner of the paper.