Two Nude Figures [verso]

Luca Signorelli

1500

chalk

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Nude buttocks

About this work

This sketch shows two men standing close, their bodies drawn in simple black chalk. One rests a hand on the other’s shoulder. The paper has a warm tan tint that makes shadows feel soft. Luca Signorelli used black chalk to build up light and dark. He left the faces blank, so the focus stays on the bodies’ shapes. Some lines look smudged, as if he worked fast. Look up chiaroscuro to see how light and shadow shape forms.