Who painted Study for "Greek Girls Bathing"?

Study for "Greek Girls Bathing" was painted by Elihu Vedder in 1872.

Where can I see Study for "Greek Girls Bathing"?

Study for "Greek Girls Bathing" is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Study for "Greek Girls Bathing"?

Study for "Greek Girls Bathing" is associated with Impressionism.

Artwork

Study for "Greek Girls Bathing"

Elihu Vedder , 1872

Study for "Greek Girls Bathing" is an oil drawing by the Impressionist artist Elihu Vedder. It dates from 1872 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Elihu Vedder’s *Study for “Greek Girls Bathing*” is an oil drawing executed on prepared wove paper around 1872. The work serves as a preparatory sketch for a larger composition that the artist planned to depict nude young women in a classical setting. The paper support and modest dimensions indicate its function as a working study rather than a finished piece.

Subject & Meaning

The drawing presents a solitary nude figure seen from behind, torso twisted and one arm raised in a bending gesture. The pose suggests a moment of private activity, echoing the theme of young Greek women engaged in bathing. By isolating the body without narrative detail, Vedder emphasizes the timeless study of human form and the sensual qualities of light on flesh.

Technique & Style

Vedder applied oil paint thinly on a primed wove paper, allowing the medium’s translucency to render warm brown and reddish tones across the skin.

Vedder applied oil paint thinly on a primed wove paper, allowing the medium’s translucency to render warm brown and reddish tones across the skin. The handling is loose, concentrating on the modeling of musculature and the play of light rather than on surface texture. A plain, unadorned background reinforces the focus on anatomical structure, a common practice in academic figure studies of the period.

History & Provenance

Created during Vedder’s early career in New York, the study predates his later fame as an illustrator of *The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam*. The work remained in private collections before entering a museum holding of Vedder’s drawings in the mid‑20th century, where it has been catalogued as an example of his preparatory process for larger mythological subjects.

Context

In the early 1870s, American artists like Vedder were increasingly drawn to European academic traditions, especially the study of the nude as a vehicle for exploring classical ideals. This drawing reflects that cross‑Atlantic interest, merging Vedder’s emerging Symbolist sensibility with the rigorous figure training typical of French academies, which he would later integrate into his illustrated and painted oeuvre.