Study of Figures: an Old Man Holding a Hat and Facing Forwards, and a Young Man Holding a Torch and a Hat, seen from both the Front and Left Sides; Verso: Study of a Head 1575 - 1650

This charcoal drawing, created between 1575 and 1650 by Flemish artist Antoine Sallaert, depicts a study of three figures. Two figures are seen from both the front and left sides, the first an older man holding a hat, and the second, a younger man holding a torch and a hat. The third figure is a head study on the back of the sheet. This type of drawing, featuring the careful study of the human form, is known as a figure study, and was common in the Baroque era. This drawing, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, was a preparatory sketch for a larger work, and gives insight into the meticulous process that Sallaert employed in his work.