Two Seated Male Figures Within Spandrels
16th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache, reworked with red chalk, on paper washed pale mauve
Dimensions
sheet: 9 3/4 x 6 9/16 in. (24.8 x 16.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Katrin Bellinger, 2008
Accession Number
2008.178.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the intricate spaces of architectural spandrels, Andrea Schiavone's * Seated Male Figures* captures the dynamic energy of 16th-century draftsmanship. Schiavone (Andrea Meldola, c. 1522–1563), a prominent Mannerist artist influenced by Michelangelo and Titian, often created such studies as preparatory sketches for larger frescoes or paintings. These muscular, seated male figures, rendered with expressive poses, evoke the classical ideals of antiquity, poised as if guardians in a grand architectural setting. The drawing showcases Schiavone's masterful mixed-media technique on pale ma...
About the Artist
Andrea Schiavone (Andrea Meldola) · 1510–1563
Andrea Schiavone, born Andrea Meldolla around 1510 or 1515 in Zara (modern Zadar, Croatia), in Venetian-ruled Dalmatia, hailed from a family rooted in Meldola near Forlì in Romagna, Emilia-Romagna. His father, Simon Meldolla, served as a garrison commander there, and both parents originated from Meldola, where the family held property into the early 16th century. Nicknamed "Schiavone"—"the Slav"—a...