Home Online catalogues Studi & Schizzi IV. Studying Light Capturing light, accurately indicating its play on shapes and forms, catching the way shadows model volumes, using the intensity of chiaroscuro to dramatise the presence of a figure. The study of lumi was an essential element in Italian theoretical treatises, and was echoed by draughtsmen from the fifteenth century on. Light sometimes features in the earliest sketches or, more frequently, was tackled in one of the last phases of preparatory work for a painting. In some cases, the light was studied for its own sake, allowing the artist to practice understanding and rendering the relationship between light and shade.To represent this relationship, draughtsmen resorted to a variety of graphic solutions: the brightness of light could be represented by white highlights (chalk, bodycolour) on a dark support (prepared or tinted paper) or, using a reverse effect, shade could be indicated with a dark medium (red chalk, black chalk, brown ink) on a light support, left blank. Seguita sempre la più eccelente luce, e vogli con debito ragionevole intenderla e seguiterla; perchè, di cio’ mancando, non sarebbe tuo lavoro con nessuno rilievo, e verrebbe cosa semplice, e con poco mestiero. Always follow the brightest light, and make sure to use it and follow it in sensible manner; because, if you do not, your work will have no relief, it will be oversimplified and produced with little skill. Cennino Cennini, Trattato della pittura, Florence, circa 1400 72. Attributed to Domenico Ghirlandaio Florence 1449 – 1494 Florence In this drawing the artist pays particular attention to the light, the source of which is located in front of the model. He conveys its effects by highlighting the more brightly-lit areas with biacca, white bodycolour. This was applied a tratteggio, in other words a network of parallel lines (…) 73. Filippino Lippi Prato circa 1457 – 1504 Florence A great draughtsman of the Florentine Renaissance, Filippino Lippi could handle a metalpoint on prepared paper with a spontaneity and confidence unmatched by any other artist of his generation. Achieving effects comparable to those found in pen drawings (the pen is a more fluid, manageable (…) 74. Bartolomeo Biscaino Genoa 1629 – 1657 Genoa This is a very fine example of the graphic style of Bartolomeo Biscaino, the Genoese painter and printmaker. In his elegant drawings, Biscaino always pays close attention to the light. Over the red chalk, he was in the habit of highlighting the forms and contrasts with white bodycolour, whose (…) 75. Attributed to Domenico Piola Genoa 1627 – 1703 Genoa On this sheet, the white bodycolour is applied with such intensity that it no longer simply heightens the drawing, but fully contributes to the definition of the figures, rapidly sketched in black chalk. The brown ink, applied with the tip of the brush, was used by Piola to indicate areas of (…) 76. Andrea del Sarto Florence 1486 – 1530 Florence A number of historians are of the opinion that the model for this drawing was Lucrezia del Fede, the artist’s wife. Andrea del Sarto was so often inspired by her features when depicting an ideal of beauty that “all the women he painted ended by looking like her” (Vasari, 1550). This sheet is (…) 77. Jacopo Vignali Pratovecchio 1592 – 1664 Florence This drawing reveals Jacopo Vignali’s great sensitivity and meticulousness in the handling of light and shade. The artist combined red and black chalks in a particularly elegant manner: each medium is used to depict light as well as to add colour. The red chalk is reserved for the ribbon tied (…) 78. Attributed to Pietro Faccini Bologna 1562 – 1602 Bologna Neither the author of this study nor the model has been identified with certainty. It was considered for many years to be the portrait of a woman, but in fact seems more likely to be that of a man: the short ruff with no lace, closed at the front, belongs to male rather than female fashion of (…) 79. Ottavio Leoni Rome circa 1578 – 1630 Rome Intimate in nature, this portrait is very different from the many official likenesses produced by Ottavio Leoni in the first decades of the seventeenth century. This young woman is probably Maddalena, one of the artist’s stepdaughters, portrayed by him on several occasions, notably in a drawing (…) 80. Lorenzo di Credi Florence circa 1456/60 – 1537 Florence This drawing is one of Lorenzo di Credi’s masterful drapery studies. Like Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519),* he made them during his training with Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488), who ran the most influential workshop of the Renaissance in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century. This (…) 81. Giulio Pippi, called Giulio Romano Rome 1492/99 – 1546 Mantua Giulio Romano was in great demand at the Gonzaga court in Mantua for projects as varied as objets d’art, paintings, grand decorative schemes and architecture. He followed the working practices and methods of the workshop of Raphael (1483-1520), of whom he was the favourite pupil. Like his (…) 82. Workshop of Giulio Romano Giulio Romano was in great demand at the Gonzaga court in Mantua for projects as varied as objets d’art, paintings, grand decorative schemes and architecture. He followed the working practices and methods of the workshop of Raphael (1483-1520), of whom he was the favourite pupil. Like his (…) 83. Jacopo Negretti, called Palma il Giovane Venice 1548/50 – 1628 Venice The penitent St Jerome was the frequent subject of paintings and drawings by Palma il Giovane. This study appears to have had no other purpose other than to experiment with a new variation of the figure and the play of light. After an initial sketch in black chalk, redefined with pen and ink, (…) 84. Alessandro Maganza Vicenza 1556 – after 1632 Vicenza Formerly attributed to Francesco Maffei, this drawing was later ascribed to his master, Alessandro Maganza, thus adding to the already substantial collection of drawings by the artist now in the Fondation Custodia. Maganza’s graphic style was strongly influenced by the art of Palma il Giovane. (…) 85. Sigismondo Caula Modena 1637 – 1724 Modena This sheet belongs to a group of drawings, now dispersed, made using the same technique, the same style and sharing the same provenance, which represent figures often covered with heavy drapery. Here, Caula used powerful contrasts between light and shade, cleverly opposing the large expanses of (…) 86. Attributed to Luca Giordano Naples 1634 – 1705 Naples Despite its high quality, doubts persist about the attribution of this drawing. The artist employed a red chalk wash of the same tone as the chalk used to draw the outlines. Using a brush, he constructed full, solid forms and carved out the deep folds of the impressive drapery and the saint’s (…)
Home Online catalogues Studi & Schizzi IV. Studying Light Capturing light, accurately indicating its play on shapes and forms, catching the way shadows model volumes, using the intensity of chiaroscuro to dramatise the presence of a figure. The study of lumi was an essential element in Italian theoretical treatises, and was echoed by draughtsmen from the fifteenth century on. Light sometimes features in the earliest sketches or, more frequently, was tackled in one of the last phases of preparatory work for a painting. In some cases, the light was studied for its own sake, allowing the artist to practice understanding and rendering the relationship between light and shade.To represent this relationship, draughtsmen resorted to a variety of graphic solutions: the brightness of light could be represented by white highlights (chalk, bodycolour) on a dark support (prepared or tinted paper) or, using a reverse effect, shade could be indicated with a dark medium (red chalk, black chalk, brown ink) on a light support, left blank. Seguita sempre la più eccelente luce, e vogli con debito ragionevole intenderla e seguiterla; perchè, di cio’ mancando, non sarebbe tuo lavoro con nessuno rilievo, e verrebbe cosa semplice, e con poco mestiero. Always follow the brightest light, and make sure to use it and follow it in sensible manner; because, if you do not, your work will have no relief, it will be oversimplified and produced with little skill. Cennino Cennini, Trattato della pittura, Florence, circa 1400 72. Attributed to Domenico Ghirlandaio Florence 1449 – 1494 Florence In this drawing the artist pays particular attention to the light, the source of which is located in front of the model. He conveys its effects by highlighting the more brightly-lit areas with biacca, white bodycolour. This was applied a tratteggio, in other words a network of parallel lines (…) 73. Filippino Lippi Prato circa 1457 – 1504 Florence A great draughtsman of the Florentine Renaissance, Filippino Lippi could handle a metalpoint on prepared paper with a spontaneity and confidence unmatched by any other artist of his generation. Achieving effects comparable to those found in pen drawings (the pen is a more fluid, manageable (…) 74. Bartolomeo Biscaino Genoa 1629 – 1657 Genoa This is a very fine example of the graphic style of Bartolomeo Biscaino, the Genoese painter and printmaker. In his elegant drawings, Biscaino always pays close attention to the light. Over the red chalk, he was in the habit of highlighting the forms and contrasts with white bodycolour, whose (…) 75. Attributed to Domenico Piola Genoa 1627 – 1703 Genoa On this sheet, the white bodycolour is applied with such intensity that it no longer simply heightens the drawing, but fully contributes to the definition of the figures, rapidly sketched in black chalk. The brown ink, applied with the tip of the brush, was used by Piola to indicate areas of (…) 76. Andrea del Sarto Florence 1486 – 1530 Florence A number of historians are of the opinion that the model for this drawing was Lucrezia del Fede, the artist’s wife. Andrea del Sarto was so often inspired by her features when depicting an ideal of beauty that “all the women he painted ended by looking like her” (Vasari, 1550). This sheet is (…) 77. Jacopo Vignali Pratovecchio 1592 – 1664 Florence This drawing reveals Jacopo Vignali’s great sensitivity and meticulousness in the handling of light and shade. The artist combined red and black chalks in a particularly elegant manner: each medium is used to depict light as well as to add colour. The red chalk is reserved for the ribbon tied (…) 78. Attributed to Pietro Faccini Bologna 1562 – 1602 Bologna Neither the author of this study nor the model has been identified with certainty. It was considered for many years to be the portrait of a woman, but in fact seems more likely to be that of a man: the short ruff with no lace, closed at the front, belongs to male rather than female fashion of (…) 79. Ottavio Leoni Rome circa 1578 – 1630 Rome Intimate in nature, this portrait is very different from the many official likenesses produced by Ottavio Leoni in the first decades of the seventeenth century. This young woman is probably Maddalena, one of the artist’s stepdaughters, portrayed by him on several occasions, notably in a drawing (…) 80. Lorenzo di Credi Florence circa 1456/60 – 1537 Florence This drawing is one of Lorenzo di Credi’s masterful drapery studies. Like Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519),* he made them during his training with Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488), who ran the most influential workshop of the Renaissance in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century. This (…) 81. Giulio Pippi, called Giulio Romano Rome 1492/99 – 1546 Mantua Giulio Romano was in great demand at the Gonzaga court in Mantua for projects as varied as objets d’art, paintings, grand decorative schemes and architecture. He followed the working practices and methods of the workshop of Raphael (1483-1520), of whom he was the favourite pupil. Like his (…) 82. Workshop of Giulio Romano Giulio Romano was in great demand at the Gonzaga court in Mantua for projects as varied as objets d’art, paintings, grand decorative schemes and architecture. He followed the working practices and methods of the workshop of Raphael (1483-1520), of whom he was the favourite pupil. Like his (…) 83. Jacopo Negretti, called Palma il Giovane Venice 1548/50 – 1628 Venice The penitent St Jerome was the frequent subject of paintings and drawings by Palma il Giovane. This study appears to have had no other purpose other than to experiment with a new variation of the figure and the play of light. After an initial sketch in black chalk, redefined with pen and ink, (…) 84. Alessandro Maganza Vicenza 1556 – after 1632 Vicenza Formerly attributed to Francesco Maffei, this drawing was later ascribed to his master, Alessandro Maganza, thus adding to the already substantial collection of drawings by the artist now in the Fondation Custodia. Maganza’s graphic style was strongly influenced by the art of Palma il Giovane. (…) 85. Sigismondo Caula Modena 1637 – 1724 Modena This sheet belongs to a group of drawings, now dispersed, made using the same technique, the same style and sharing the same provenance, which represent figures often covered with heavy drapery. Here, Caula used powerful contrasts between light and shade, cleverly opposing the large expanses of (…) 86. Attributed to Luca Giordano Naples 1634 – 1705 Naples Despite its high quality, doubts persist about the attribution of this drawing. The artist employed a red chalk wash of the same tone as the chalk used to draw the outlines. Using a brush, he constructed full, solid forms and carved out the deep folds of the impressive drapery and the saint’s (…)