Sailors Maneuvering a Cannon, Possibly a Study for "The Death of Sir J

Several muscular male figures strain together to push a heavy cannon on its carriage, their bodies twisted in dynamic, overlapping poses. Black chalk lines and white highlights model the forms against a grey ground, with loose, quick strokes suggesting motion.

Look closer: A small head partly hidden behind the cannon's breech at the lower left, half-sketched among the shadows.

Artist

John Singleton Copley

Date

ca. 1810

Medium

Black chalk and white-chalk heightening on blue laid paper

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2200 × 1767 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Anonymous Gift, 1960