Young Woman on a Cloud with Three Figures (recto); Studies of an Old Man and a Hand (verso)
Francesco Furini
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
This double-sided sheet of studies in red chalk is an excellent and characteristic example of Furini's draftsmanship. It seems to be an early work by the artist, and the recto, with a study of a woman on a cloud, may have been preparatory for a lost painting of the 'Immaculate Conception' or, more likely, an 'Assumption.' The drawing can be dated to the late 1620s, and evidences in its figural vocabulary the influence of Furini's less gifted teacher, Matteo Rosselli (1578-1650). Drawn in red chalk, with white gouache highlights, the sheet portrays on the recto a large study of a young woman seated on clouds, and around it, three much smaller summary figural sketches. The verso portrays a fairly finished study of a pensive old, bearded man in a nearly half-length composition (the bottom border of the sheet is cropped), and a large detail study of a male left hand on the upper right. The recto is inscribed in pen and brown ink toward the bottom left: "furino," which is more likely a signature by the artist. Less likely, this inscription represents an attribution by a mid 17th century collector, which turns out to be entirely correct. (C.C.B., 2005)
Drawings and Prints
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.