Male Nude Torso with Raised Arms

Popham considered this small, delicately executed study a pre-Roman drawing by the artist, copied probably from an antique statue of the Flaying of Marsyas. However, the pose of the shoulders and armpit here does not seem to correspond to the tight compression of the shoulders and disjointed raising of the arms, with wrists bound above the head, that is typical of Marsyas figures (see Bober and Rubinstein 1986, pls 32-4). The figure's pose in Parmigianino's study, with a gently distended torso and raised arms, seems more appropriate for a portrayual of the crucified Christ. The stumps indicating the arms may suggest that the drawing is based on a wax sketch model. The artist concentrated on the rendering of the torso, blending the strokes seamlessly by means of stumping and inflecting the contours with small points of shadow. To provide a contrast, he left much of the parallel hatching in the background evident. (Carmen C. Bambach)