Studies of Three Naked Men, a Right Arm and a Nude Figure Supported by Another (recto); Studies of a Figure with Left Arm Upraised, a Leg, and Putti with Foliage (verso)

Paolo Pagani Italian

Not on view

Early authors on art celebrated Pagani’s studies of male nudes, as in this group of tightly intertwined bodies, seen in a strong light so as to reveal their defined musculature and great sculptural mass. Hailing from Lombardy, this eccentric seventeenth-century artist was trained in Venice and was later active in Austria and Moravia. His highly personal style as a draftsman is evident here in the elegantly exaggerated swelling of the outlines and use of transparent washes. At lower right the artist tested his penmanship with calligraphic exercises and also sketched a small composition in purple wash.

Studies of Three Naked Men, a Right Arm and a Nude Figure Supported by Another (recto); Studies of a Figure with Left Arm Upraised, a Leg, and Putti with Foliage (verso), Paolo Pagani (Italian, Castello Valsolda 1661–1716 Milan), Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk (the three struggling figures) (recto); pen and purple ink, brush and purple wash (the two figures at lower right) (recto); pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk (verso)

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Studies of Three Naked Men, a Right Arm and a Nude Figure Supported by Another (recto); Studies of a Figure with Left Arm Upraised, a Leg, and Putti with Foliage (verso), Paolo Pagani (Italian, Castello Valsolda 1661–1716 Milan), Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk (the three struggling figures) (recto); pen and purple ink, brush and purple wash (the two figures at lower right) (recto); pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk (verso)
Studies of Three Naked Men, a Right Arm and a Nude Figure Supported by Another (recto); Studies of a Figure with Left Arm Upraised, a Leg, and Putti with Foliage (verso), Paolo Pagani (Italian, Castello Valsolda 1661–1716 Milan), Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk (the three struggling figures) (recto); pen and purple ink, brush and purple wash (the two figures at lower right) (recto); pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk (verso)

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