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Studies of a Man's Head and of His Hands

1592–99
Not on view
These large studies of heads and hands, broadly modeled in colored chalks, were preparatory for the figure of an apostle seated at the table near Christ in Barocci’s monumental canvas The Last Supper. The painting was an important commission by Guidobaldo II Della Rovere, Duke of Urbino and Pesaro, and was executed by Barocci between 1592 and 1599 for the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament in the Urbino Cathedral, where it still hangs. Here, the use of black, white, and peach chalks on blue paper and the sculptural quality of the forms are typical of the artist, who was among the most prolific draftsmen of all time. The Last Supper was one of Barocci’s last paintings, for which he produced more than fifty drawings, a fact that attests to the meticulous care of his creative process.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Studies of a Man's Head and of His Hands
  • Artist: Federico Barocci (Italian, Urbino ca. 1535–1612 Urbino)
  • Date: 1592–99
  • Medium: Black chalk, highlighted with white chalk and touches of red chalk, on blue-gray paper
  • Dimensions: 11 x 16-1/4 in. (28 x 41.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1950
  • Object Number: 50.143
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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The Entombment of Christ, after Barocci
Federico Barocci
after 1573
The Virgin seated on a cloud, Federico Barocci Italian, Etching with some engraving
The Virgin seated on a cloud
Federico Barocci
1580–84
St Francis kneeling facing right receiving the stigmata, to his left there is a monk reading
Federico Barocci
1580–81
The Virgin and Christ Child in an Italianate garden with a fountain, lake, pavillion, and villa; the figures are copied from the rest on the return from Egypt by Barocci
Federico Barocci
after 1582
Saint Francis in the chapel with Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Augustine appearing to him above
Federico Barocci
1581

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