1560
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Studies of a Sculpture of a Male Nude, Vertebrae, and Gesturing Figures is a 1560 ink by Bartolomeo Passarotti, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows quick, wobbly lines of a twisted male body, tangled with smaller figures around it. The paper is light and yellowed, with ink that looks scratchy and uneven. Some parts are filled with tight, crisscrossed lines to show shadows or muscle. The artist scribbled notes in the margins, maybe explaining poses or ideas. The lines feel rushed, like they were drawn fast to capture movement. Look up cross-hatching to see how artists build shadows with lines like these.
Bartolomeo Passarotti or Passerotti (1529–1592) was an Italian painter of the mannerist period, who worked mainly in his native Bologna. His family name is also spelled Passerotti or Passarotto.
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