This drawing is a study for La Musique, a monument erected in honor of Claude Debussy in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1932.
Long positioned in the Jardin des Arts before being displayed in the rooms of the Saint-Germain-en-Laye municipal museum, this sculpture underwent several preparatory works by Maillol, which reflect his hesitation regarding the positioning of the subject’s arms. While the raised arms in this study differ from the final sculpture, the recognizable positioning of the legs, reminiscent of Nijinsky’s, remains evident.