Exhibition

A Show of Hands: Drawings from The Huntington's Art Collections, 1600-1900

The works in this exhibition—studies and sketches spanning nearly three centuries—provide glimpses into how artists such as Peter Lely, Charles West Cope, and David Wilkie attempted to capture the emotive force of the human hand.
Charles West Cope, Clasped Hands (Study for Fresco in Peers' Corridor, Palace of Westminster) c. 1858. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Charles West Cope, Clasped Hands (Study for Fresco in Peers' Corridor, Palace of Westminster,) c. 1858. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Study of a Hand, mid to late 18th century. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Study of a Hand, mid to late 18th century. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

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Charles West Cope, Clasped Hands (Study for Fresco in Peers' Corridor, Palace of Westminster) c. 1858. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Study of a Hand, mid to late 18th century. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Physically complex and supremely expressive, hands are, notoriously, the most difficult element of a figural subject to portray successfully. Because of this, artists often spend a considerable amount of time sketching hands, working through the descriptive and compositional challenges this portion of the human anatomy presents before embarking upon a final image.

The works in this exhibition—studies and sketches spanning nearly three centuries—provide glimpses into how artists such as Peter Lely, Charles West Cope, and David Wilkie attempted to capture the emotive force of the human hand. “A Show of Hands” focuses on approximately 15 European works from The Huntington’s permanent collection ranging from meticulous studies of a single hand, each vein and shadow fully wrought, to multiple sketches quickly rendered in a burst of inspiration. Though separated from their bodies, the hands in these images articulate individual personas, inviting reflection on the character, vocation, and attitude of their subjects.