Artist
Pompeo BatoniItalian (Roman), 1708–1787
CultureItalian
Titles
- Academic Nude
Date1765
PlaceItaly
MediumBlack chalk with white chalk on blue-gray prepared laid paper
DimensionsSheet: 21 1/4 × 15 9/16 in. (54 × 39.5 cm)
Mount: 22 7/8 × 17 11/16 in. (58.2 × 45 cm)
Mount: 22 7/8 × 17 11/16 in. (58.2 × 45 cm)
Credit LineThe Rienzi Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III
Object number94.1050
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
RienziObject Type
The extreme detail and polish of this signed drawing confirms that it is not the common product of a day's preparations in the studio but is instead a demonstration piece—a virtuoso example of the artist's skill as a draftsman.
Pompeo Batoni's achievements as a draftsman are less well known than his religious and mythological paintings or his many portraits of foreign visitors to Rome and on their Grand Tour of Italy. But Batoni was famous among his contemporaries for his ability to draw, and his drawings today are equally highly esteemed.
Provenance[Cromer Antique Gallery, Norfolk]; Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III, 1957; given to MFAH, 1994.
Exhibition History"Neoclassicism: A Taste for the Antique, 1720-1790," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Brown Foundation Galleries, March 20-May 30, 2011.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscription: Recto: Signed and dated in pen and black ink, bottom right: Pompeo Batoni 1765.
Inscription: Verso of mount: Inscribed in graphite, bottom right: Mr. Masterson's Batoni
Inscription: Verso of mount: Inscribed in graphite, bottom right: Mr. Masterson's Batoni
Signed lower right: "Pompeo Batoni 1765."
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
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