Studies of Hands Playing Instruments (verso)

1725

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see quick, smudgy sketches of hands holding flutes, lutes, and violins—no faces, just fingers and instruments. Piazzetta drew these as practice for a huge ceiling painting in Venice. The finished work shows angels swirling in stormy clouds, but here, he’s just figuring out how hands grip wood and strings. The smudges aren’t mistakes; they help him see how light hits skin and fabric. If you like how he builds form with soft shadows, look up *chiaroscuro*.