Kopf und Oberkörper eines Jünglings nach links 

Domenico Beccafumi made this drawing of a youth’s head and torso in Italy at some point in the first half of the 16th century. It’s a study, sketched in black and white chalk. At this time, Italian artists turned increasingly to preparatory drawings, as if art should first be made in the mind and only later by hand. The founding of art academies around this time, such as the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence, formalized artistic training. The focus on rational principles and bodily perfection in art grew alongside other institutions such as banking and proto-science. In this drawing, Beccafumi seems interested in anatomical precision, but he is also looking for an expressive pose. For the art historian, this drawing reveals much about the way art was taught, valued, and understood in its time. Original sources, such as artists’ letters and academy records, can tell us much about this history.