The Virgin in Glory
1564
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
About the artist
1564
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Virgin in Glory is a 1564 ink by Luca Cambiaso, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a group of people floating in the air. One figure at the center holds up her arms, surrounded by smaller figures with wings. The background looks like clouds, and the lines are all drawn with quick, sketchy strokes. The artist used a lot of overlapping lines to create shadows and depth, which makes the figures look three-dimensional. This style was common in Renaissance drawings. Check out the technique called cross-hatching to see how artists create shading like this.
