Artwork
Study of a Young Man in a Robe, Standing

Study of a Young Man in a Robe, Standing is an ink print by the Impressionist artist John Singer Sargent. It dates from 1895 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
The image captures a solitary figure, a young man draped in a long robe and perched on a low stool, his head bowed and hands clasping a piece of fabric.
John Singer Sargent’s *Study of a Young Man in a Robe, Standing* is a transfer lithograph executed on wove paper in 1895. The image captures a solitary figure, a young man draped in a long robe and perched on a low stool, his head bowed and hands clasping a piece of fabric. The work belongs to Sargent’s extensive printmaking output, which runs alongside his well‑known paintings, watercolors, and drawings.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a solitary male figure rendered in a moment of quiet contemplation. The downward tilt of the head and the gentle grip on the cloth suggest introspection or a pause in an otherwise active scene. While no narrative is explicitly provided, the study emphasizes the study of posture, drapery, and the subtle play of light across the figure’s form.
Technique & Style
Created as a transfer lithograph, the piece employs the characteristic grain of wove paper, allowing fine tonal variations. Sargent’s line work is loose and gestural, conveying movement and texture with minimal strokes. The shading, achieved through delicate cross‑hatching, gives the robe a sense of weight while preserving the immediacy of a quick observational sketch.
History & Provenance
Sargent, an American-born artist raised in Florence and trained in Paris, produced this lithograph during a period of extensive travel throughout Europe and the Near East. Though the specific ownership trail of this particular print is not documented here, it forms part of the broader corpus of Sargent’s prints that were circulated among collectors and institutions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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Artist & collection
Artist
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Belle Époque and Edwardian-era luxury.








![Man Wearing a Cloak [verso], by Edouard Manet](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/edouard-manet--man-wearing-a-cloak-verso--0bd057994533d120-w320.webp)







![Man Wearing a Cloak [recto], by Edouard Manet](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/edouard-manet--man-wearing-a-cloak-recto--6f165c0376318d82-w320.webp)


