Man Playing a Lute [recto]

Matteo Rosselli

1614

chalk

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Baroque lute

About this work

You see a man playing a lute in this drawing. The man is sitting with his instrument, and the drawing is very detailed. It's interesting that the artist used red chalk to create this work, which was a common medium during the Renaissance. Check out the technique of sfumato to learn more about how artists created soft, hazy effects like this.