Pietà
n.d.
Medium
Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, heightened with lead white, on blue wove paper, laid down on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
25.8 × 19.5 cm (10 3/16 × 7 11/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
80918
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings collection, Luca Cambiaso's *Pietà* is a undated drawing that captures the timeless sorrow of the Virgin Mary crad the lifeless body of Christ. Cambiaso, a leading Genoese Mannerist artist (15271585), was renowned for his dynamic, elongated figures inspired by Michelangelo, often blending emotional depth with graceful distortions. This work exemplifies his skill in rendering intimate religious narratives, a staple of Counter-Reformation art that emphasized devotion and pathos. Executed in pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, he...
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...