Artists Drawing and Painting in a Studio
1612–66
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash
Dimensions
2-7/8 x 7-7/8 in. (7.3 x 20 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1965
Accession Number
65.131.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the lively world of a 17th-century artist’s studio with Pier Francesco Mola’s *Artists Drawing and Painting in a* (c. 1612–1666). This intimate drawing, executed in pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, just 2⅞ × 7⅞ inches, capturing a snapshot of creative energy on a small scale. Mola, a Swiss-Italian Baroque master influenced by the Bolognese school, renowned for his fluid figures and dramatic compositions, often blending history painting with landscape elements. The scene buzzes with human figures—artists intently sketching, painting, and collaborating—highlighting the com...
About the Artist
Pier Francesco Mola
Pier Francesco Mola (1612–1666) was a Roman Baroque painter celebrated for the lyrical quality of his landscapes and the painterly freedom of his figural work, qualities that set him apart from the more rigorous classicism of some of his contemporaries. Born in Coldrerio in the Swiss canton of Ticino, he spent the greater part of his career in Rome, where he underwent an extensive and eclectic for...