Sheet of Studies with Male Portrait
Italian
Description
Subject Matter:
The accumulated sketches on both sides of this sheet, probably from the seventeenth or eighteenth century and by at least three different artists, reveal its use as a place where a succession of artists jotted down and quickly tested their ideas. From the placing of the sketches one can discern how each artist turned the sheet to find available space for their drawing.
Physical Description:
A bust-length study of a bearded man appears on one side of this sheet. His torso faces frontally, but his head is turned in 3/4 profile to his left. He wears a shirt with a collar and a hat with a plume. The reverse of the sheet is filled with approximately 12 small sketches of heads, faces, limbs, and full-length figures. A sketch of a radial star shaped decorative pattern is on the right edge. In the middle of the sheet is a basket of fruit and flowers and in the upper left there is a drawing of a figure rowing a boat in a landscape.
Usage Rights:
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