Study for "The Siege of Gibraltar" (Study of Figures Pulling on a Rope)

This drawing is a study for the rope pullers at the left side of The Siege of Gibraltar (1791, Guildhall Art Gallery, London). Reminiscent of a violent scene from the Last Judgment, this portion of the canvas stood in stark contrast to the commemorative officer group at right, dominated by the commanding figure of General George Augustus Eliott (later Lord Heathfield).
Related examples: See B.54.27.
Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998
Descriptive Medium: Black and white chalk on gray-blue paper