Study for Three Athletes: Studies of athletes

Object NameDrawing

Artist / Maker Christian Petersen (Danish - American, 1885 - 1961)

Date1935-1936

OriginU.S.A.

MediumPaper, black graphite or conte

Dimensions8 1/2 x 11 in. (21.6 x 27.9 cm)

ClassificationsDrawings

Credit LinePurchased by University Museums from Mary Petersen. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberum92.31

Status

Not on view

Collections

Label TextThe mid-1930s was an extremely busy time for Christian Petersen. Having joined the faculty in 1934, he accepted a number of major commissions for campus sculptures within a very short time. But in the midst of the Great Depression and after years of labor in industrial design, Petersen must have been delighted to be able to work full time as a sculptor. One of these assignments was the addition of three relief panels to the stairway entrance of State Gym. He chose three of the most prominent college sports, football, basketball and track. The studies show how thoroughly he studied the human form in motion and how he strove to create a dynamic, yet balanced composition for the three figures. Petersen’s knowledge of human anatomy was extensive, although he rarely had the opportunity to apply it in depictions of the nude. He used his understanding to convey the complexities of the body at rest and in motion and though those, to convey emotional or narrative situations. Petersen displays an exacting knowledge of musculature in a sharply delineated style.

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