Sheet of Figure Studies / Pietro Testa
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2008/2.199.4
- Title
- Sheet of Figure Studies
- Artist
- Pietro Testa
- Artist Nationality
- Italian
- Artist Life Dates
- (Lucca, Italy, 1612 - 1650, Rome, Italy)
- Medium and Support
- pen and brown ink on laid paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1635-1640
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Italy (nation)
- Lazio (region)
- Roma (province)
- Rome (inhabited place)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Italy (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Lazio (region)
- Creation Place 4
- Roma (province)
- Creation Place 5
- Rome (inhabited place)
- Credit Line
- Gift from the Joseph F. McCrindle Collection
- Style/Group/Movement
- Baroque
- Period
- Europe, Baroque (1590-1750)
- Dimensions
- 25.4 cm x 38.1 cm (10 in. x 15 in.)
- Century
- 17th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Drawing
- Primary Object Type
- prepatory drawing
- Physical Description
- This sheet contains studies of fourteen figures in various stages of elaboration. Several of the figures are represented standing while gazing upward, including a man with an outstretched arm on the left edge of the sheet, a woman standing before a column near the center, and a man with a cross over his shoulder in the upper right corner. Two summarily sketched seated figures in the lower left corner appear to develop ideas for a similar figure placed at the foot of a column in a more detailed study near the middle of the sheet. In the upper left quadrant of the sheet appears a monk kneeling beneath a tree with a figure holding a staff standing behind him. Marked off by an octagonal frame along the lower edge is a seated female figure pointing upward with her right hand and holding a globe in her left.
- Subject Matter
- The studies on this sheet epitomize the fluid and dynamic drawing style of Pietro Testa that made him one of the most renowned draughtsmen and printmakers working in Rome during the 1630s and 40s. The studies represent a variety of figures, some illustrating apparent religious subjects. The only recognizable figure is Astrology, depicted near the bottom edge of the sheet, who is identified by an inscription and the globe in her left hand. Although his prints and drawings garned Testa recognition and were widely sought by collectors, he suffered a number of professional setbacks, partly due to his acerbic personality, and never achieved the public notoriety as a painter that he strongly coveted.
- Primary Keywords
- drawing (image-making)
- figures (representations)
- globes (cartographic spheres)
- rome (inhabited place)
- studies (visual works)
- Secondary Keywords
- descriptors
- drawing and drawing techniques
- europe (continent)
- geographic and political locations
- image-making processes and techniques
- information artifacts
- information artifacts by physical form
- information forms
- italy (nation)
- lazio (region)
- objects we use
- processes and techniques
- processes and techniques by specific type
- roma (province)
- visual works
- visual works by function
- visual works by subject type
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Record
- 2008/2.199.4
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-2.199.4/2008_2_199_4.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Sheet of Figure Studies; Pietro Testa." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-2.199.4/2008_2_199_4.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 10, 2024.
