1563
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Man in a Niche is a 1563 ink by Jean Mignon, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This drawing shows a bearded man standing inside a tall, arched frame. His head is crowned with leaves, and he wears a loose, draped cloth over his shoulders. Behind him, a niche holds a fancy, ornate seat with curved arms and a high back. On either side of the niche hang two decorative ropes with tassels and small bells. The artist used fine lines to create shadows and textures, like the folds in the cloth or the details on the seat. This kind of careful linework is typical of etchings, where metal plates are scratched to make prints. Look up technique: etching to see how artists like this made their marks.
Jean Mignon was a French artist in painting and printmaking in the 16th century, active from 1537 to the mid-1550s.
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