Pompeo Girolamo Batoni Male Nude Black chalk heightened with white on blue prepared paper The artists who flocked to Rome in the 1760s and 70s seeking inspiration from the glories of the city, could also improve their skills by attending any of a dozen art academies there. One of the best-known was that established in 1762 by Pompeo Batoni, who was then at the height of his powers and undoubtedly the most celebrated portrait painter in Europe. For a fee, his classes were open to all-comers. Pupils were tutored on drawing from life and from antique casts, disciplines at which Batoni himself excelled. A number of his own drawings were displayed in an exemplary fashion on the walls. Most of Batoni's finished life drawings are from the period of his academy. They are often signed and dated, to emphasise their formal nature, and generally executed in black and white chalk on blue prepared paper, as in this case. They are noteworthy for their technical distinction and faultless anatomical description. Edgar Peter Bowron describes them in the following way; 'The technical finesse and mastery of the model's heavily muscled anatomy reveal Batoni's extraordinary ability to draw from life as well as his superb knowledge of ancient sculpture.' |
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