Four Studies of Nude Men
Medium
Pen and brown ink. Mounted on a card
Dimensions
8-3/16 x 13 in. (20.8 x 33.0 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Cephas G. Thompson, 1887
Accession Number
87.12.139
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the tranquil galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of's Drawings and Prints department *Four Studies of Nude* offers a glimpse into the preparatory genius of Antonio Canova (1757–1822), the preeminent Italian Neoclassicist sculptor of his era. Though sometimes attributed to an anonymous early 19th-century Italian artist from his circle, these delicate pen-and-brown-ink sketches on a mounted card (8-3/16 x 13 in.) capture four dynamic male figures in varied poses, showcasing Canova's profound study of human anatomy. Gifted to the Met in 1887 by Cephas G. Thompson, they reflect the artist's me...
About the Artist
Antonio Canova|Anonymous, Italian, early 19th century · 1757–1822
Antonio Canova, born on November 1, 1757, in the small town of Possagno in the Republic of Venice, was immersed in sculpture from childhood. His father, Pietro Canova, a stonecutter, died when Antonio was just four, prompting his mother, Angela Zardo Fantolin, to remarry and place him under the care of his paternal grandfather, Pasino Canova. A skilled stonemason and sculptor of late Baroque altar...