Study for a Figure of Saint Joseph

Bartolomeo Schedoni Italian

Not on view

The figure in this quick, luminous sketch is seen from below in a tightly compressed foreshortening to conform with the eye of a spectator viewing the form from the ground. The sketch was preparatory for the upper portion of a very tall, monumental altarpiece (Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples), originally commissioned from Schedoni in 1607 for the Cathedral of Fanano near Modena. The way of blocking the figure in terms of broad planes of light and shadow within bold economic outlines on blue-gray paper is typical of this artist's practice. The incorrect attribution to Pietro da Cortona at lower right was written by an early collector.

Study for a Figure of Saint Joseph, Bartolomeo Schedoni (Italian, Formigine 1578–1615 Parma), Black chalk, highlighted with white gouache, on blue-gray paper

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Study for a Figure of Saint Joseph, Bartolomeo Schedoni (Italian, Formigine 1578–1615 Parma), Black chalk, highlighted with white gouache, on blue-gray paper
Study for a Figure of Saint Joseph, Bartolomeo Schedoni (Italian, Formigine 1578–1615 Parma), Black chalk, highlighted with white gouache, on blue-gray paper
Study for a Figure of Saint Joseph, Bartolomeo Schedoni (Italian, Formigine 1578–1615 Parma), Black chalk, highlighted with white gouache, on blue-gray paper

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