This life study, probably from the 1520s, may have been preparatory for a painting of Mercury (now lost) by Parmigianino listed in the 1561 inventory of works belonging to his patron, Cavaliere Francesco Baiardo. It represents the god Mercury, identified by the winged hat in his right hand and presumably holding a caduceus in his left. The god's half-sitting, half-standing pose and elongated torso suggest that the figure was to be seen from below. The soft manner of chalk drawing with sfumato effects recalls Correggio's studies, while the beauty of Mercury's anatomy and his languid posture recall Michelangelo's nude youths frescoed on the Sistine ceiling.
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Title:Seated Figure of Mercury
Artist:Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) (Italian, Parma 1503–1540 Casalmaggiore)
Date:1524–26
Medium:Black chalk
Dimensions:12 x 8 1/8in. (30.5 x 20.6cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Purchase, Florence B. Selden Bequest, Charles and Jessie Price Gift, and Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1997
Accession Number:1997.154
Inscription: Annotated in graphite, at lower left corner, "F. Boucher"
Hans M. Calmann (British); Lerux; Gabrielle Kopelman (American)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," October 6, 1997–January 4, 1998.
London. British Museum. "Correggio and Parmigianino Master Draughtsmen of the Renaissance," October 6, 2000–January 7, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Correggio and Parmigianino Master Draughtsmen of the Renaissance," February 5–May 6, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Paper Chase: Two Decades of Collecting Drawings and Prints," December 9, 2014–March 16, 2015.
Diane DeGrazia Correggio and His Legacy, Sixteenth Century Emilian Drawings. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Washington, DC, 1984, cat. no. 42, pp. 154-156, ill.
Mario Di Giampaolo Parmigianino: Catalogo Completo dei Dipinti. Florence, 1991, p. 8.
William M. Griswold, Linda Wolk-Simon Sixteenth Century Italian Drawings in New York Collections. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art (January 11 - March 27, 1994). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1994, pp. 7, 143, no. 6, ill.
Carmen C. Bambach, Colta Ives, Carolyn Logan, Nadine Orenstein, Perrin Stein "Recent Acquisitions, a selection: 1997-1998." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 56, no. 2, New York, Autumn 1998, (entry by Carmen C. Bambach), p. 20, ill.
Carmen C. Bambach, Martin Clayton, George R. Goldner, Hugo Chapman Correggio and Parmigianino: Master Draughtsmen of the Renaissance. Exh. cat., The British Museum, London, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. London, 2000-2001, p. 112, no. 69, pl. 69 (entry by George Goldner).
Carmen C. Bambach Renaissance Drawings: Material and Function Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York, October 2002.
Mary Vaccaro "Correggio and Parmigianino. Master Draftsmen of the Renaissance [Exhibition Catalogue] by Carmen C. Bambach, Hugo Chapman, Martin Clayton, George R. Goldner." Master Drawings. 2002, cat. no. 69, p. 259.
Achim Gnann Parmigianino: Die Zeichnungen. 2 Vols., Petersberg, Germany, 2007, cat. no. 619, fig. no. 619, p. 449, ill.
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