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School of Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

Reclining Male Nude, mid 1700s

Description

Maker

  • School of Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, ca. 1682-1754, Italian

Title

Reclining Male Nude

Year

mid 1700s

Medium

Black and white chalk on blue laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • chalk,
  • white heightening

Supports

  • Blue paper

Dimensions

45.4 x 60.3 cm (17 7/8 x 23 13/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Watermark: Three crescents

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Jesse Metcalf Fund

Object Number

63.050

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Changing Poses

November 12, 2010 - June 6, 2011

This large study of a muscular nude male model reveals all of the talents that qualified Giovanni Battista Piazzetta to lead Venice’s first official drawing academy, the School of the Nude (Scuola del Nudo), when it opened in 1750. It shows a clear command of anatomy without exaggeration or contortion by the model, whose casually tousled hair reinforces the overall relaxation of his pose. Piazzetta had privately trained pupils in his studio for decades, and this figure is a type often found in both his work and in the drawings of his students. Such a figure could easily be presented as a shepherd in an Arcadian landscape, a popular subject in Venice in this period. Piazzetta often used family members as models, particularly his wife, Rosa, and son, Giacomo.

Venetian Drawings and Prints of the 18th Century

January 12 - February 5, 1967

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Reclining Male Nude with the accession number of 63.050. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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