Three Male Nudes
Details
- Author / creator
- Domenico Beccafumi (Italian, 1486–1551)
- Object type
- Drawing
- Date or period
- c. 1540–47
- Dimensions summary
- Sheet: 23.2 × 41.7 cm; Secondary Support: 23.2 × 41.9 cm; Tertiary Support: 24.8 × 42.7 cm
- Place of origin
- Italy
- Acquisition method
- Purchase
- Credit line
- Purchased with the National Heritage Memorial Fund, 1958
- Paper / support
- Wove paper
- Image rights
- Public domain (CC0)
About this object
Domenico Beccafumi was intensely aware of the work of his contemporary Michelangelo when he developed his own style for projects in Siena, south of Florence. This drawing is a study for a chiaroscuro print, a type of woodblock print using several blocks, some colored, to create light and shadow. The drawing features three male nudes whose roles are unknown. The closest figure, reclining with his back toward the viewer, recalls ancient sculptures of river gods as well as works by Michelangelo, including the reclining figures he sculpted for the Medici tombs in Florence.
Materials and technique
Black chalk or charcoal with brush and black chalk or charcoal wash, heightened with white gouache; incised
Signature and marks
tertiary support, along bottom, in brown ink: Becco Fumi, il Mecarino da Siena. 1404-1549 Domenico Beccafumi; lower right, in brown ink: from vol 1.st P. [1?]2.
