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Marco Benefial

Study of a Decapitated Male Figure, mid 1700s

Description

Maker

  • Marco Benefial, 1684-1764, Italian

Title

Study of a Decapitated Male Figure

Year

mid 1700s

Medium

Black and white chalk on beige laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • chalk

Supports

  • Grey paper

Dimensions

26.2 x 42.2 cm (10 5/16 x 16 5/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed by the artist in black chalk, LR: "Marco Benefiali Pit.[tore] Romano"

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

58.154

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Changing Poses

November 12, 2010 - June 6, 2011

In 18th-century Rome, the corpses of executed criminals frequently served as models at the state-sponsored Academy of St. Luke and in smaller, private art schools opened by accomplished painters like Marco Benefial. Here the artist captures the stark play of light and shadow across the cadaver’s muscular shoulders and arms, as well as the clenched knuckles of the right hand, visceral evidence of a violent and painful death. Despite its morbid underpinnings, this drawing may have been a compositional study for a nobler subject, such as a dead saint or mythological hero. Benefial’s maverick concern for naturalistic depiction of the body is well
documented: in 1755, he was expelled from the Academy of St. Luke for his outspoken criticism of his colleagues’ allegedly incompetent methods of teaching life drawing.

Italian Drawings from the Museum's Collection

March 17 - April 16, 1961

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 Study of a Decapitated Male Figure with the accession number of 58.154. 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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