Cleveland Museum of Art

Three Male Nudes

Domenico BeccafumiLinkedCulture matchlcp-972fc50108ef

Date: c. 1540–47
Medium: black chalk or charcoal with brush and black chalk or charcoal wash, heightened with white gouache; incised
Culture: Italy, 16th century
Department: Drawings
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 135303

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Domenico Beccafumi was intensely aware of the work of his contemporary Michelangelo when he developed his own style for projects in Siena, south of Florence. This drawing is a study for a chiaroscuro print, a type of woodblock print using several blocks, some colored, to create light and shadow. The drawing features three male nudes whose roles are unknown. The closest figure, reclining with his back toward the viewer, recalls ancient sculptures of river gods as well as works by Michelangelo, including the reclining figures he sculpted for the Medici tombs in Florence.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Delia E. Holden Fund
Provenance: The Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery; [his sale, Sotheby's, London, 10 July 1917, lot 511 (lot included Madonna Ascending to Heaven by Simone Cantarini; sold to Moore according to Cleveland 1979)]; Archibald George Blomefield Russel (Lugt 2770a, lower center, in black ink); [his sale, Sotheby's, London, 9 June 1955, lot 1 (repr.)]; A. Scharf, London (according to Cleveland 1979).