Cleveland Museum of Art

Seated Male Nude

Baccio Bandinelli

Date

c. 1516–20

Medium

red chalk

Culture

Italy, 16th century

Department

Drawings

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Both Baccio Bandinelli and Michelangelo made figure drawing the foundation of their artistic and inventive processes. In this drawing, Bandinelli reimagined one of Michelangelo’s ignudi , the athletic male nudes that decorate the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Probably drawing from a live model, Bandinelli combined controlled, defined lines and smudges to create a massively muscled form, that, like Michelangelo’s figures, refers to ancient sculpture as well as to knowledge of anatomy. His use of red chalk—Michelangelo’s preferred medium for sketching the ignudi—suggests that he sought to compare his own prowess in the medium to that of the better-known master. Bandinelli's drawing of a moody nude combines his knowledge of ancient sculpture and paintings by Michelangelo with observation from life.

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