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Figures on Steps (Studies for an Assumption of the Virgin)

Carlo Maratta

1601

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Baroque Baroque

Dominant colour

Figures on Steps (Studies for an Assumption of the Virgin) is a 1601 ink by Carlo Maratta, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Carlo Maratta
When & what style?: 1601 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

You see quick, scribbly lines of brown ink over faint pencil—people climbing steps, arms reaching up. Maratta drew this as a warm-up for a big church painting. The lines look rushed, but the faces are already full of feeling. He used cross-hatching—tiny crisscrossed lines—to build shadows without smudging the ink. If you like how ink can feel alive, try looking up cross-hatching.