Allegorical Figure of Religion (recto); Study of a Griffon and of a Seated Figure (verso)
1553–1615
Medium
Red chalk with some black chalk
Dimensions
7-13/16 x 5-1/8 in. (19.8 x 13.0 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1980
Accession Number
1980.17.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Cherubino Alberti (3–1615), an Italian artist active during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods, created this versatile sheet of studies using red chalk accented with black chalk. Measuring just 7-13/16 x 5-1/8 inches, it the intimate, preparatory nature of Renaissance drawings, often collected for their spontaneity and skill. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Drawings and Prints, this work was acquired through the Harry G. Sperling in 1980. On the recto, Alberti depicts an *Allegorical Figure of Religion a graceful female form tagged simply as "Women," embodying the era's em...
About the Artist
Cherubino Alberti (Zaccaria Mattia) · 1553–1615
Cherubino Alberti (1553–1615), also known by his birth name Zaccaria Mattia, was an Italian engraver and painter active in Rome during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Born in Borgo San Sepolcro in Tuscany, he came from an artistically inclined family and received training that equipped him for work in both painting and the reproductive graphic arts. It was as a printmaker, however,...