Sheet of nine figure studies
Maker
Attributed to
(artist)
1720-1778
(artist)
1720-1778
Title
Sheet of nine figure studies
Date of Production
(circa) 1750 - 1755
Medium
red chalk and graphite on laid paper, right lower edge made up
Dimensions
Height: 17.1 cm
Width: 14 cm
Width: 14 cm
Accession Number
D.1952.RW.3971
Mode of Acquisition
Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
In this small chalk, drawing Piranesi rhythmically repeated figures across the sheet, evenly spacing them on invisible diagonal lines. Lacking any context, these isolated motifs may have functioned as stock figures for populating printed images. Given their lively gestures and various viewpoints, the figures might have been drawn from life, as Piranesi is known to have sketched people he saw in the streets of Rome.
Provenance
Konstantinoff (Paris); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), n.d.; Witt Bequest 1952
Exhibition History
Special Display - The Grid, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 26/01/2012-28/05/2012
G.B. Piranesi, 1720-1778, Nottingham University Art Gallery, 1970
G.B. Piranesi, 1720-1778, Nottingham University Art Gallery, 1970
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: none.
Inscription: Verso: upper right corner, graphite, unclear: “#7[?] / close. Am[…]”; lower right, brown ink, cut off at lower edge: “IoGiovani Sc[…]”.
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Verso: upper right corner, graphite, unclear: “#7[?] / close. Am[…]”; lower right, brown ink, cut off at lower edge: “IoGiovani Sc[…]”.
Collector's mark: none.
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