A small boy's stomach, lap, leg and one hand with bracelet 1520 - 1525

This drawing of a small boy's torso, lap and leg comes from the hand of Hans Baldung, an artist active in the first half of the 16th century. Baldung was German and his career coincided with the Reformation, a time of great social and religious upheaval in Europe. He produced designs for stained glass and woodcuts as well as paintings, and his work often engages with themes of witchcraft and death. Here, however, he is concerned with the close observation of the human form, and the rendering of its softness in line. Drawings like this were made in preparation for larger paintings or prints. The sketch served as a kind of study, a means for the artist to practice his craft. In the absence of photography, drawings also served a documentary function, recording likenesses or preserving the memory of a particular moment or experience. To understand drawings such as this, art historians draw on diverse archives to understand the artist, the history of the artwork and the cultural context in which it was made.