Full-length Drapery Study c. 1580 - 1600

drawing

amateur sketch

toned paper

light pencil work

pencil sketch

personal sketchbook

pencil drawing

coffee painting

underpainting

watercolour illustration

italy

watercolor

This anonymous drawing from the late 16th century is a study of drapery, a common practice for artists during this period. The artist’s meticulous attention to detail is evident in the way the fabric is depicted, with its folds and creases rendered in a realistic manner. This black chalk drawing on paper is a beautiful example of the meticulous work of an unknown artist who was focused on the technical study of human anatomy and drapery.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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This luminous drapery study appears to have been inspired by a figure the artist saw in a painting rather than by a live model. The garment resembles the habit of a Dominican friar (white tunic and scapular beneath a black cloak), a fact that may one day provide a clue to the artist's identity-or at least the altarpiece he or she was studying. Rather than carefully modeling the figure, the artist focused on the shimmering effects and energetic movement of the drapery, which twists and flutters around the turning body. Apparently having run out of room for the figure's right foot at the bottom of the sheet, the artists inserted a large-scale study of it close by.