Helen and Cassandra: study of drapery

Frederick Sandys

Date: 1866

Materials: Black chalk, touched with red and white

Academic drawing

Sandys had a love of academic life drawing, and the solid basis he derived from such studies underlies most of his full-length figurative work, even on the small scale demanded by book illustration.

'Helen and Cassandra' appeared in the magazine 'Once a Week' for 28 April 1866, alongside verses written by Alfred B. Richards to accompany the engraving.

The prophetess Cassandra chastises a sulky Helen (like the figure in 'If', moodily chewing a strand of hair), whose actions have led to the burning of Troy.

Elaborate execution

Four drawings at Birmingham show Sandys's meticulous development of the image, from a nude study to the final design in pen and ink. Two drapery studies were done in between, one left incomplete and this sheet, a wonderful piece of draughtsmanship, both elaborate and subtle in execution.