Agnolo Bronzino - Preparatory study for the Portrait of a Young Man in the Nelson-Atkins MA
This meticulously executed drawing only came to light in London, at a Sotheby's sale in 1989 (July 3), where it was correctly attributed to Bronzino and recognized as a preparatory study for the Portrait of a Young Man in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (plate 56). X-ray and other technical examination of the painting reveal that it went through several stages of execution.' In the first of these, the sitter was shown bareheaded and with an antique-styled suit of armor, visible underneath the collar and shoulder outline (fig. 54-1). The Getty drawing clearly was made in connection with this first version, in which the features of the face and hair are conceived in a somewhat idealized and Roman manner. lt also shows a bit more breadth in the cheeks and more pronounced irises, the latter conveying a starker expressive quality than is found in the final painting.
This is one of only three surviving drawings by Bronzino securely identifiable as portraits, so caution is necessary in generalizing about his methodology. lt has been suggested that this work was made from life, but the classicized features and small scale tend to argue that it was developed from a more naturalistic study. Both painting and drawing fit well into Bronzino's work
Source:
The drawings of Bronzino The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010 - ISBN 978-1-58839-354-8 - (plate 56)
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Head of a Man; Agnolo Bronzino (Italian, 1503 - 1572); about 1550–1555; Black chalk; 13.8 × 10.3 cm (5 7/16 × 4 1/16 in.); 90.GB.29; No Copyright - United States (rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/)
Agnolo Bronzino - Preparatory study for the Portrait of a Young Man in the Nelson-Atkins MA
This meticulously executed drawing only came to light in London, at a Sotheby's sale in 1989 (July 3), where it was correctly attributed to Bronzino and recognized as a preparatory study for the Portrait of a Young Man in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (plate 56). X-ray and other technical examination of the painting reveal that it went through several stages of execution.' In the first of these, the sitter was shown bareheaded and with an antique-styled suit of armor, visible underneath the collar and shoulder outline (fig. 54-1). The Getty drawing clearly was made in connection with this first version, in which the features of the face and hair are conceived in a somewhat idealized and Roman manner. lt also shows a bit more breadth in the cheeks and more pronounced irises, the latter conveying a starker expressive quality than is found in the final painting.
This is one of only three surviving drawings by Bronzino securely identifiable as portraits, so caution is necessary in generalizing about his methodology. lt has been suggested that this work was made from life, but the classicized features and small scale tend to argue that it was developed from a more naturalistic study. Both painting and drawing fit well into Bronzino's work
Source:
The drawings of Bronzino The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010 - ISBN 978-1-58839-354-8 - (plate 56)
*******************************************************************************
Head of a Man; Agnolo Bronzino (Italian, 1503 - 1572); about 1550–1555; Black chalk; 13.8 × 10.3 cm (5 7/16 × 4 1/16 in.); 90.GB.29; No Copyright - United States (rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/)