Standing Draped Male Figure with Raised Right Arm n.d.

Carlo Urbino made this drawing of a standing draped male figure with pen and brown ink with white gouache highlights on blue-gray paper, sometime in the late 16th century. The monumental figure is placed against a blank background, drawing the viewer's attention to his pose, and the fall of light across his back and drapery. Urbino lived and worked in Milan during a time when the Catholic Church was a major political and cultural force. The church commissioned artworks that would inspire religious feeling and demonstrate its power. Drawings like this one allowed artists to work out their ideas and practice their technique. We can see how the artist is thinking through the rendering of the human body and classical drapery in relation to a larger, unseen composition. The artist's mastery would have been achieved through training within a studio or academy. Historical research on Urbino and the artistic institutions of Milan, such as the Ambrosiana art academy, help us understand the ways that the artist was trained, and the social function of his art.