A Bearded Monk Showing a Portable Altar to a Praying Child, with an Old Woman Kneeling
mid-18th–early 19th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, wash
Dimensions
10 1/4 x 7 11/16 in. (26 x 19.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.390
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate drawing *A Bearded Monk Showing Portable Altar to a Pray Child, with an Old Kneeling*, Pietro Antonio Novelli captures a tender moment of religious instruction from the mid-18th to 19th century.ed in pen and brown ink with on paper (10 1/4 x 7 11/16 in.), this work exemplifies the expressive potential of monochrome techniques, where fluid lines and subtle tonal washes evoke depth, emotion, and soft lighting in a compact format ideal for sketchbooks or private study. The scene unfolds in a domestic setting, highlighting Catholic devotional life: a bearded monk gently reveals a ...
About the Artist
Pietro Antonio Novelli · 1729–1804
**Pietro Antonio Novelli (1729–1804)** Pietro Antonio Novelli, a prolific Venetian painter, draughtsman, and engraver, trained under the esteemed Jacopo Amigoni and in the studio of Giambattista Pittoni, absorbing influences from Gaspare Diziani and Francesco Guardi. In 1768, he gained membership in the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia with his reception piece, *Allegory of the Arts*. Early in ...