Lot 1172: Alexandre-Jean-Baptiste Hesse (Paris 1806-1879)

Alexandre-Jean-Baptiste Hesse (Paris 1806-1879)
Studies of hands
red, black and white chalk, on blue paper, unframed
12¼ x 11 in. (31.4 x 27.8 cm.), irregular; and smaller
two drawings on the same backing sheet (2)

All three studies on these two drawings are preparatory for Hesse's mural painting of Saint Geneviève distributing bread to the Poor executed in 1852 in the church of Saint-Séverin, Paris. The studies of a right arm and a left hand are those of the fainting woman supported by a man in the centre of the composition. The study of a left hand drawn on a separate piece of paper is for the raised hand of the figure at the left edge of the composition.