What movement is Study for "Dance on the Battery in Presence of Peter Stuyvesant"?

Study for "Dance on the Battery in Presence of Peter Stuyvesant" is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

Study for "Dance on the Battery in Presence of Peter Stuyvesant"

Study for "Dance on the Battery in Presence of Peter Stuyvesant" is a charcoal drawing by the Romanticist artist Asher Brown Durand. It dates from 1838 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created around 1838, this charcoal and chalk drawing on blue‑gray wove paper serves as a preparatory study by Asher Brown Durand for a larger composition depicting a Dutch colonial scene in New York. The work captures a single figure in motion, rendered in swift, gestural lines that anticipate the final painting’s narrative.

Subject & Meaning

The central figure is identified as Anthony Van Corlaer, a legendary Dutch‑American messenger famed for his exuberant personality. He is shown dancing atop a rooftop, wearing a tall hat and brandishing a sword, a visual shorthand for his spirited role in early New York folklore.

Technique & Style

Durand employed charcoal combined with brown and white chalk, allowing for tonal contrast against the blue‑gray paper. The sketch’s loose, energetic strokes convey movement and light, while the crowded background of indistinct figures and architecture suggests a bustling colonial setting without detailed rendering.

History & Provenance

The drawing was produced from Durand’s memory rather than a live observation, serving as a compositional experiment for the eventual painting of Dutch settlers. Its date, circa 1838, places it early in Durand’s career, prior to his later focus on pure landscape subjects.