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A Young Man Sitting on a Stool Reading a Book (recto); The Fall of Man (a fragment of the lower part) (verso)

Florentine 15th Century

1450

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Nude

Dominant colour

A Young Man Sitting on a Stool Reading a Book (recto); The Fall of Man (a fragment of the lower part) (verso) is a 1450 ink by Florentine 15th Century, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Florentine 15th Century
When & what style?: 1450 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This drawing shows a young man sitting on a stool, reading a book. He's nude and his left leg is crossed over his right. He's holding the book in his left hand and appears to be looking down at it. The drawing is done in pen and brown ink, with white gouache used to highlight the figure. The paper is laid, which means it has a visible texture. The drawing is quite detailed, with the artist paying close attention to the folds of the man's skin and the shape of his muscles. If you like this kind of art, you might want to check out the Renaissance movement, which was known for its focus on the human form and its use of classical techniques.