Figure study

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Images(3)

Dateprobably 17th century

MediumPen and ink on paper

DimensionsSheet: 7 1/4 × 8 15/16 in. (18.4 × 22.7 cm)

Credit LineBequest of William G. Roehrick, Class of 1934, H1971

Object number1996.15.2

Not on view

DescriptionThis study depicting the upper back, shoulder, and left arm of a man is an excellent demonstration of the techniques of cross-hatching and stippling. The precise anatomical rendering of the shoulder muscles, the veins of the arm, and the fingers reveals careful study, likely not just of human subjects but also of classical sculptures such as the so-called Farnese Hercules. That statue, which was discovered in 1546 at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome and acquired by the powerful Farnese family, had an immense impact on artists. The dramatic, torqued posture of the figure suggests that this drawing was made in the seventeenth century, at the height of the Baroque period. The style originated in Rome as a reaction to Mannerism, the prevalent style during most of the sixteenth century. Baroque artists wished to return to more naturalistic depictions that, in their splendor, drama, and sensuousness, would evoke a spiritual and emotional response in the viewer. This drawing was probably a sketch for or after a frescoed ceiling, as indicated by the upsidedown vantage point from which the figure is depicted. During the seventeenth century, a series of powerful and wealthy popes engaged in a spree of building and renovating palazzos and churches throughout Rome, all of which required adornment and decoration. In the sacred buildings, ceiling frescoes, stuccowork, gilding, and colored marbles were coordinated to create un bel composto (literally, a “beautiful mixture,” or “beautiful whole”) intended to enhance the worshiper’s experience within the space. Many ceiling frescoes bore trompe-l’oeil depictions of the heavens, often with angels or martyrs alighting on clouds, as if the viewer were gazing through the ceiling directly at the sky. (SOURCE: Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS, 2017)

Collections

European Art

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2017
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions: The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Five Years, Highlights from the Permanent Collection," September 9 - December 10, 2017 (cat. no. 28, illus.).

Provenance 1996: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by bequest of William G. Roehrick.

Markings None noted.

Published References Katherine D. Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS: THE RUTH AND ELMER WELLIN MUSEUM OF ART AT FIVE YEARS, HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION (Clinton, NY: Wellin Museum of Art, 2017), p. 96.

Signature Not signed.

Inscribed None noted.