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Study of a Nude Seen from the Back, and Two Studies of an Arm (recto); Nude Seen from the Back, with Subsidiary Studies of a Shoulder and Leg (verso)

A work made of pen and iron gall ink (recto) and pen and iron gall ink, with touches of red chalk (verso) on cream laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of pen and iron gall ink (recto) and pen and iron gall ink, with touches of red chalk (verso) on cream laid paper.

Date:

c. 1528

Artist:

Perino del Vaga
Italian, 1501–1547

About this artwork

The two sides of this balanced sheet of anatomical drawings reflect the probing mind and line of an artist who trained in the workshop of Raphael, one of the finest draftsmen of the Italian Renaissance. His talented pupil Perino del Vaga explores the front and back of a nude male figure, using two very different graphic methods.

On one side, his line is enhanced with hatching that gives his studies sculptural form. On the other side, he restricts himself to pure line in what becomes a kind of calligraphy of the pen. We even see him testing that pen in a series of rapid squiggles to the left of the figure.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Perino del Vaga

Title

Study of a Nude Seen from the Back, and Two Studies of an Arm (recto); Nude Seen from the Back, with Subsidiary Studies of a Shoulder and Leg (verso)

Place

Italy (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1528

Medium

Pen and iron gall ink (recto) and pen and iron gall ink, with touches of red chalk (verso) on cream laid paper

Dimensions

28.1 × 19.3 cm (11 1/8 × 7 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Richard and Mary L. Gray

Reference Number

2019.856

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/202143/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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