Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Morganmobile: Tools of the Artist

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The featureless, schematic head, blocky shoulders, and cone-shaped fingers extending from a roughly articulated hand indicate that Louis Galloche prepared this drapery study using a poseable mannequin covered in a swath of fabric. Especially during the early phases of a project, mannequins and jointed models, known as lay figures, allowed artists to execute preparatory work without depending on human models.

Louis Galloche (French, 1670โ€“1761), Drapery Study. Black, red, and white chalk on brown paper. Purchased on the Herzog Fund and as the gift of Margot Gordon and Marcello Aldega, 2001.7.