Getty Museum
Study of a Seated Young Man
Creator
Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri)Italian Artist · 1591–1666
All works by this person →Giovanni Francesco Barberi was nicknamed Guercino because he was *guercio,*or cross-eyed. Born in poverty in Cento, near Ferrara, he was largely self-taught, though he also served an apprenticeship. The glowing colorism and emotion of Lodovico Carracci's *Holy Family with Saint Francis* in Bologna influenced him profoundly, and Lodovico himself encouraged the young man. From 1614 to 1621, the year
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1619
- Medium
- Black chalk dipped in gum, white chalk heightening, on gray-brown paper
- Culture
- Italian
- Department
- Drawings
- Institution
- Getty Museum
In his youth, Guercino made many drawings from nude models, often using charcoal, the traditional medium for such studies. Artists usually made such drawings from the nude, known as *académies* , in an art academy or in an artist's studio. Guercino probably made large-scale drawings like this one as demonstration pieces to inspire the pupils in his own academy. He made other oiled-charcoal nude studies of this model around the same time. For these studies, Guercino typically used rough, light-brown paper and charcoal soaked in oil, which made the line darker and more permanent. For luminosity, he added occasional touches of white chalk highlights. This combination enabled him to create luminous shadows or reflected light within deep shadow and to suggest the texture of flesh. His masterly technique simplified forms and distinctively modeled them with soft lines and broad shading to suggest the play of light.
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