A young man lies outstretched with his legs crossed, reclining
on a bunched piece of fabric and strumming a lute or another
stringed instrument. With his back to the viewer and his face
partially hidden, the man's twisted pose rather than his
identity becomes the focus of the drawing. The gathers of fabric
on which he leans, the wrinkled folds of his coat, and the
outstretched length of his legs all create interest and draw the
viewer's eyes around the figure and into the composition.
François Boucher used a technique known as aux trois crayons, in
red, black, and white chalks, which he and his contemporaries
made popular in France in the 1700s. As a middle tone, he
adopted the blue paper favored by Venetian artists. A favorite
painter at the French court, Boucher designed tapestries for the
royal factories, Beauvais and Gobelins. He made this drawing,
one of very few that survive, for his first suite of tapestries,
the Fêtes italiennes.