Study for 'Startled'

Study for Startled, a chalk drawing by Frank Dicksee made in 1892 and held at the Royal Academy of Arts, is a preparatory work for his major Royal Academy exhibit of the same year. Dicksee's practice of making careful preparatory studies — particularly in chalk, which allowed him to work out the tonal structure and figure pose before committing to paint — was characteristic of his rigorous academic training at the Royal Academy Schools, where he had studied in the 1870s. The Royal Academy's collection of such preparatory drawings provides an important insight into the working methods of its senior members, and Dicksee's study demonstrates the seriousness with which he approached the technical preparation of a major exhibit. Chalk studies of this kind allowed the artist to test the lighting, pose, and expression of his principal figure before the final painting, ensuring that the figure's startled reaction — the key expressive element — was convincingly rendered. The survival of this study in the Royal Academy's own collection is particularly fitting, given that the finished work was exhibited there the same year.

Chalk on paper allows for rapid, responsive mark-making that captures the gestural spontaneity of a startled pose. Dicksee's tonal modelling in chalk demonstrates his mastery of academic drawing: hatching, blended tones, and the confident outline of the figure.