Seated Female Figure after the Antique

Art Historical Context

Baldassare Peruzzi’s delicate drawing captures a seated female figure inspired by ancient classical sculpture, reflecting the Renaissance fascination with antiquity. Created around 1533, this small study exemplifies how artists of the period looked to Greco-Roman models for ideals of proportion, drapery, and serene composure. The figure’s poised stance and flowing garments suggest Peruzzi was recording or reinterpreting a marble statue, a common practice that helped transmit ancient forms into contemporary art. Executed in pen and brown ink on laid paper, the drawing’s compact size—just over ...