Seated Figure of Mercury
Medium
Black chalk
Dimensions
12 x 8 1/8in. (30.5 x 20.6cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Florence B. Selden Bequest, Charles and Jessie Price Gift, and Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1997
Accession Number
1997.154
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 1520s, during the shift from High Renaissance to Mannerism in Italy, Parmigianino—born Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (1503–1540)—created this exquisite *Seated Figure of Mercury*. 1524–26, the black chalk drawing captures the Roman god of commerce, travel, and messengers in a relaxed, contemplative nude pose. Measuring just 12 x 8 1/8 inches (30.5 x 20.6 cm), its intimate scale invites close viewing, revealing the artist's masterful command of line and shadow. Parmigianino, a leading Mannerist, was renowned for his elegant, elongated forms and graceful distortions, influenced ...
About the Artist
Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) · 1503–1540
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, known as Parmigianino, was born on January 11, 1503, in Parma, into a family of artists. The eighth child of painter Filippo Mazzola and Donatella Abbati, he lost his father to the plague at age two and was raised by his uncles, Michele and Pier Ilario Mazzola, modestly talented painters who taught him the techniques of the craft. By his late teens, Parmigianino d...