Artwork
The Fencing Lesson [recto]
![The Fencing Lesson [recto], by Richard Caton Woodville, graphite, 1848](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/richard-caton-woodville--the-fencing-lesson-recto--9e4e91b9c6d045fe-w1024.webp)
The Fencing Lesson [recto] is a graphite drawing by the Romanticist artist Richard Caton Woodville. It dates from 1848 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
The drawing titled *The Fencing Lesson* (recto) is a graphite work on wove paper executed around 1848 by American painter Richard Caton Woodville. Executed in a modest scale, the piece records a private instructional scene within a sparsely lit interior, emphasizing the act of teaching rather than decorative detail.
Subject & Meaning
Three figures occupy the composition: a standing man holding a sword, a young boy positioned to receive instruction, and a seated woman observing from a chair. The setting—a rough stone-walled room illuminated faintly through a small window—suggests an intimate, perhaps domestic, environment where the transmission of martial skill is observed as a social interaction.
Technique & Style
Woodville employs rapid, gestural graphite lines to convey movement and texture. The loose handling of the medium captures the tension of the sword and the fleeting posture of the participants, while the rough wall surfaces and subdued lighting are suggested rather than rendered in precise detail, prioritizing the narrative over meticulous finish.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1848, the drawing belongs to Woodville’s early period before his later focus on genre scenes in oil. Its provenance traces to private collections before entering a museum holding of 19th‑century American drawings, where it serves as an example of his draftsmanship and interest in everyday subjects.
Artist & collection
