Studies of a Costume, Sleeve, and Hand
1747
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Pietro Longhi
Pietro Longhi was a Venetian painter of contemporary genre scenes of life.
See the richer artist page1747
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Studies of a Costume, Sleeve, and Hand is a 1747 by Pietro Longhi, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a close-up of a man’s coat sleeve, a gloved hand gripping a walking stick, and a bit of cuff peeking out. Longhi used two kinds of chalk—black for the fabric’s sharp folds, red for the skin’s warm glow. These quick sketches were practice for his painted scenes of Venetian life. The details tell you who the man is without ever showing his face. Look up other works tagged “Italy, 18th century” to see how artists dressed the people of the time.
The drawings of the prolific draftsman Pietro Longhi concentrate on the details of costume and gesture to convey the character and social class of his subjects. Here, the artist skillfully exploits black chalk to render the cut of a man’s frock coat and red chalk to simulate the flesh tones of his hand gripping a walking stick.
Three-piece suits such as the one depicted here were worn all over Europe in the 1700s, with the most expensive made from silk or velvet.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Pietro Longhi was a Venetian painter of contemporary genre scenes of life.
See the richer artist page
![Man with a Walking Stick, Seen in Profile [recto]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/9a2de0af8c4d35fd/thumb.webp)
