Artwork
Study for "Mind and Matter"
Study for "Mind and Matter" is a drawing by the Impressionist artist Charles Samuel Keene. It dates from 1879 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Charles Samuel Keene’s drawing, titled Study for “Mind and Matter,” dates from around 1879. Executed as a preparatory sketch, the work is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection. It presents a single female figure rendered in a fluid, gestural manner, offering insight into Keeke’s compositional planning for a larger composition.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts a woman seated sideways, her torso turned away from the viewer. She is dressed in a layered, ruffled gown with puffed sleeves, her hair styled in a high updo, and she holds a fan in one hand while resting the other on her knee. The pose and attire suggest a genteel, perhaps theatrical, moment captured for later development.
Technique & Style
Keene employs swift, loose lines to outline the figure, allowing the contours of the dress and hair to emerge with minimal detail. Darker shading accentuates the folds of the fabric, creating a sense of volume and movement. This economical approach is characteristic of artists’ studies, where the emphasis lies on capturing gesture and structure rather than finished surface.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1879, the drawing entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings through acquisition, though specific details of its prior ownership are not recorded in the available sources. As a study, it reflects Keene’s working process during the late nineteenth‑century period when he was active in British illustration and genre painting.
Artist & collection
Artist
Charles Samuel Keene (10 August 1823 – 4 January 1891) was an English artist and illustrator, who worked in black and white.
