Studies of Arms, Shoulders and Chests, ca. 1493–1498
Metalpoint stylus, heightened with white, on purple-grey prepared paper
Sheet dimensions18,9 × 24,5 cm
About the workSketches were often made with dark and light drawing utensils on coloured paper. As this work shows, the Italian artist Filippino Lippi used this technique to achieve a three-dimensional effect. First, he outlined the figures with a metalpoint stylus. This required a confident drawing technique, for once lines had been drawn they could not be corrected. Then he applied white to shape the musculature, which he varied according to the position of the arm. Drawings like these were preparatory sketches used in the studio as part of the process of making paintings.
AccessionCollection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Provenance[…]; seit 1932 Dauerleihgabe der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Inventory numberKA (FP) 9r
