Advancing Figure 1568 - 1640

Cavaliere d'Arpino, or Giuseppe Cesari, made this red chalk drawing, Advancing Figure, in Italy sometime around 1600. The sketch presents a classicising figure: the light and shadow create a sense of sculptural form, and the idealised face recalls ancient sculpture. The figure is draped in cloth, with an implied movement forward, and the piece may well be a preparatory sketch for a larger painting, perhaps even a fresco on a ceiling, given that d’Arpino worked for powerful patrons such as Pope Clement VIII. In this context, it is interesting to note that the Royal Academy was founded later, in the 18th century, to give artists more autonomy from the demands of the church and the aristocracy. Of course, academies had their own institutional agendas, and it is my role as an historian to show how art reflects the complex demands of specific times and places. To research this further, you might consult archival records and biographies of the artist.