Head of a Bearded Man Looking to Lower Left (Nicodemus)
1579–82
Medium
Brush and oil paint on paper
Dimensions
15 1/4 x 10 3/4in. (38.7 x 27.3cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1976
Accession Number
1976.87.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Federico Barocci, a leading Italian painter from Urbino known for his emotive, lyrical style bridging Mannerism and the emerging Baroque created this intimate study around 157982. Titled *Head of a Bearded Looking to Lower Left (odemus)*, it depicts the biblical figure Nicodemus—famous for his nocturnal visit to Jesus—with a thoughtful gaze downward, capturing profound introspection. Barocci's preparatory drawings like this one were essential to his meticulous process, often refining compositions for major altarpieces during the Counter-Reformation era, when religious art emphasized emotional ...
About the Artist
Federico Barocci · 1535–1612
Federico Barocci (c. 1535–1612) was an Italian painter from Urbino whose luminous, emotionally tender religious paintings made him one of the most original and influential artists of the late sixteenth century, bridging Mannerism and the early Baroque. Born in Urbino, the city of Raphael, he studied under Battista Franco and traveled to Rome, where he absorbed the lessons of Raphael, Correggio, an...