Studies voor het onderlichaam en benen en binnenzijde van hand van Hieronymus 1676 - 1724

Benedetto Luti rendered this red chalk study of a lower body and hand around the turn of the 18th century. Luti was Italian, and Rome, where he spent his career, had become a destination for artists from across Europe. In Rome, Luti became a figure of power within the Academy of St. Luke, an institution that had been established in the late 16th century. It played a key role in professionalizing artistic training. This drawing gives us a peek into that world. In its attention to anatomy, we can imagine a student learning the foundations of representing the human form. We can see a model’s drapery, and a hand, carefully articulated in the Renaissance-approved medium of red chalk. The very existence of the Academy, and this drawing, make us think about what the institutions of art have historically considered worthy of our attention. Historians can use institutional records, artist’s biographies, and close visual analysis to better understand the development of art.