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Study of a Franciscan Monk (Possibly Saint Francis)

Creator

Italian Artist · 1575–1632

The son of a minor Milanese fresco painter, Cerano became one of Milan's leading painters and designers of church facades, sculpture, and engravings. In the mid-1590s he went to Rome, where he adopted certain pink and yellow tones, most likely after having seen Federico Barocci's paintings. He established himself in Milan by the late 1590s, where his many patrons included the Borromeo family. Cera

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Date: about 1600
Medium: Red chalk
Culture: Italian
Department: Drawings
Institution: Getty Museum

A Franciscan monk, possibly Saint Francis himself, turns his eyes towards heaven in supplication, his gaunt face shown in profile. The monk's features--with his large eyes, finely modeled nose, and slightly parted lips--are carefully observed and delicately drawn. Cerano used swift, curving strokes to capture the short curls at the back of the monk's tonsured head and softer, smudged lines for the wispy strands on his chin and upper lip. The artist created dramatic contrasts by using strong *chiaroscuro* lighting effects: a dark shadow behind the man's head sets off his thin face and the hollows of his cheeks. Although similar figures appear in several paintings by Cerano, scholars have not yet identified the specific painting for which this drawing was a preparatory study.

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