Head Looking Upwards
n.d.
Medium
Red and black chalk, heightened with lead white (partially oxidized), on tan laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
29.4 × 22 cm (11 5/8 × 8 11/16 in.)
Classification
chalk
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
84481
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate *Head Looking Upwards*, a drawing from the Sienese school of the late medieval or early Renaissance period. Created by an unknown artist from Siena, Italy—a city renowned for its elegant Gothic and proto-Renaissance art—this undated work exemplifies the refined draftsmanship of Sienese masters like Simone Martini or the Lorenzetti brothers. The upward gaze evokes spiritual devotion, a common motif in religious iconography, suggesting it may have been a study for a larger painting of a saint, angel, or ecstatic figure. Executed in red and black chalk heightened with lead wh...