Study of a Female Nude (possibly for an unrealized allegorical painting) (recto); Studies of Drapery and Study of a Landscape (verso)

Puvis employs a loose, gestural hand on both sides of the sheet. The front view uses broad, tonal shading to suggest volume, whereas the verso sketches are executed in rapid, economical strokes that capture the flow of fabric and the outline of a landscape. This dual approach reflects his systematic preparation process, balancing detailed figure study with broader compositional experiments.

The work entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in the early 20th century, where it has been catalogued as a key example of the artist’s preparatory drawings. Puvis de Chavannes, a prominent muralist associated with the early Third Republic, later helped found the Société Nationale des Beaux‑Arts, cementing his influence on French academic circles.

Created during a period when Puvis was consolidating his reputation for large‑scale allegorical murals, the study reflects his interest in harmonising rational composition with emotive content—a balance praised by contemporary critic Émile Zola. The drawing’s methodical approach to figure and landscape studies informed later artists, notably the Russian‑born painter Robert Genin, who cited Puvis’s compositional clarity as an inspiration.