Study of a left leg (recto); A seated man looking right (verso)

Details

Denys Calvaert (Antwerp 1540-1619 Bologna)
Study of a left leg (recto); A seated man looking right (verso)
black and white chalk on blue paper
10 ¾ x 8 1/8 in. (27.5 x 20.7 cm)

Provenance

Vincenzo Pacetti, Rome (1746-18 20);
his son, Michelangelo Pacetti, Rome (1793-1855) (L. 2057).
with Rossella Gilli, Milan (Disegni antichi dal XV al XVIII secolo, 1996, no. 22).
Private collection.

Lot Essay

This bold, confidently executed leg study was connected by Mario di Giampaolo to Calvaert's Toilet of Venus in the Pincoteca of Cremona, but the same leg can further be found on other erotically themed paintings executed by the Flemish-born artist after 1600, like The Death of Cleopatra (M. Danieli, 'Pittura erotica tra Bologna e Praga: aggiunte a Denys Calvaert e Dirck de Quade van Ravesteyn', Czech and Slovak Journal of Humanities, 3, 2016, p. 40, figs. 1-2). The figure on the verso is inspired by Michelangelo's Saint Bartholomew from the Last Judgment.

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