D1703

Unità di misura: mm; Altezza: 375; Larghezza: 565

cartoncino grasso

The collection of drawings and prints of the Emilian school in the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe di Palazzo Rosso is one of the most important on an international level: it consists of around 300 sheets, donated in 1848 to the city's collections by the Genoese nobleman Marcello Durazzo (1790-1848) - a refined and expert connoisseur of ancient graphics - who, while staying in Bologna, had acquired, through the last heirs of Guercino and his pupils and grandsons Benedetto and Cesare Gennari, autograph sheets by the master or belonging to his workshop. Among others, the large nude study presented here, formerly the property of Cesare Gennari (1637-1688), stands out for its 'modernity' and timeless beauty: in greased charcoal on grey paper, it is an example of the artist's graphic style capable of seductive softness and skilful shading, with atmospheric and 'painterly' results even in monochrome, perhaps reminiscent of the lesson of the tonal painting of the Venetians, from Palma to Titian, so important for the artist from his youth. Moreover, we know from sources that it was precisely at this time, between 1616 and 1618, that the artist would have animated an 'Academy of the Nude' in Cento, his home town, for the practice of drawing. It is probably a live study, due to the immediacy with which the little wall, beehive, grass and fence on which the bird rests lightly are rendered in the background. (PRIARONE, 2021) The drawing depicts a naked male figure lying down.