Minneapolis Institute of Art

Boy Drawing a Bust of the Roman Emperor Vitellius

Michael Sweerts

Date

c. 1660

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

For centuries, drawing was the basis of artistic training. Michael Sweerts often depicted artists engaged in drawing live models or plaster casts of famous ancient sculptures. (The artist opened a drawing academy in Brussels in 1656 after a long sojourn in Rome.) This painting is tinged with a hint of irony, however, as Sweerts depicts this young draftsman studying a bust of Vitellius, a notoriously cruel and gluttonous Roman emperor. With black and white chalk in hand, the innocent boy is shown deep in concentration, translating the jowly features of the wicked tyrant onto the page. Is Sweerts suggesting with a wink that attaining skills in this art also corrupts? Netherlands, Europe

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