Study of a Seated Woman and Five Studies of Hands; Verso: Landscape with a Road and a Tree to the Right
late 16th–mid-17th century
Medium
Red chalk heightened with white, framing line in pen and brown ink; verso: black chalk
Dimensions
6 1/16 x 7 1/8 in. (15.4 x 18.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Harry G. Sperling, 1971
Accession Number
1975.131.140
Tags
Art Historical Context
Abraham Bloemaert, a Dutch artist active during the late 16th mid-17th century created this intimate drawing as a preparatory study, showcasing his mastery of the human form. Born in 1566 in Gorinchem, Bloemaert a key figure in the school, blending Mannerist elegance with emerging Baroque naturalism. The recto features a seated woman in profile alongside five detailed hand studies, rendered in red chalk heightened with white for luminous flesh tones and subtle modeling, framed by a delicate pen-and-brown-ink line. These sketches reflect the artist's practice of anatomical exploration, essentia...
About the Artist
Abraham Bloemaert · 1566–1651
Abraham Bloemaert (1566–1651) was born in Gorinchem in the Dutch Republic, the son of architect Cornelis Bloemaert, and grew up in Utrecht after the family relocated there in 1575. His early artistic formation took him to Paris for three years in the early 1580s, where he studied with several masters before returning to the Northern Netherlands to pursue his career. He settled permanently in Utrec...