A male nude, crouching

This copy after Michelangelo’s ignudo, that appears below the Separation of Light and Darkness on the Sistine ceiling, displays a strongly marked stylistic character and a qualitative level far superior to most of the numerous copies drawn after Michelangelo's celebrated frescoes. Characterised by a tight cross-hatching, this drawing appears to be close to several early studies by Lelio Orsi, as first advanced by Professor Paul Joannides on a note on the mount, recently reconfirmed by him (October 2018). The extremely fine pen work shows striking similarities to two sheets with male nudes holding scrolls in the Galleria Estense, Modena (inv. nos. 7377a-b), drawings usually connected with the decoration of the Casino di Sopra, Lelio’s most important task in his native Novellara, circa 1558-60 (F. Frisoni in Monducci, Lelio Orsi, Milan, 1987, nos. 117-118, ill.). The complex pose of this ignudo would certainly have appealed to Orsi, and prefigures a recurring type in his œuvre, appearing in various transformations in many of his designs related to the project of the Casino (op. cit., nos. 98, 106-117, ill.). The sixteenth century inscription with the date 1583 and name ‘Giulio da Carriobbi’ (Carrobbio is an old district of Milan) – repeated at top left on the recto – might be a reference to an early owner of the sheet.

We are grateful to Professor Paul Joannides for suggesting and confirming the attribution to Lelio Orsi after direct inspection of the drawing.