Bust of a Woman
1555/65
Medium
Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, heightened with lead white, over traces of graphite, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
13.7 × 8 cm (5 7/16 × 3 3/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
84608
Art Historical Context
Created around 1555–65, *Bust of a Woman* is a delicate drawing by Luca Cambiaso, a Genoese artist of the Mannerist era. Born in 1527, Cambiaso was renowned for his fluid, figures that bridged Renaissance naturalism and the stylized grace of Mannerism, influences he absorbed while working in Genoa and later Genoa's vibrant artistic circles. This intimate bust, measuring just 13.7 × 8 cm, captures poised female profile on ivory laid paper, likely as a preparatory study for painting or sculpture. Cambiaso employs a masterful mixed-media technique: pen and brown ink outline the form with precise...
About the Artist
Luca Cambiaso · 1527–1585
Luca Cambiaso (1527–1585) was an Italian painter and draftsman who dominated artistic life in Genoa during the second half of the sixteenth century and became one of the most innovative draftsmen of the Late Renaissance. Born in Moneglia near Genoa, he trained under his father, the painter Giovanni Cambiaso, and demonstrated precocious talent, reportedly completing his first public fresco commissi...