A Man Leaning on a Structure

later 1760s

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Associated Names
Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Artist, Venetian, 1720 - 1778

The image depicts a sketch of a person in a leaning position. The figure is shown from the knees up, resting against a railing or similar structure. The facial features are indistinct, with shadows suggesting eyes and a tilted head, with hair that appears to be roughly sketched or covered. The clothing is loose-fitting and draped, with shadows indicating folds. A bundled object is hanging from the person's waist. There is no visible jewelry. The background is plain, with faint text in red and black partially obscured by the figure.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and dark brown ink on fragment of a printed title page

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 16.1 × 9.9 cm (6 5/16 × 3 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1983.27.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Paul Proute Gallery, Paris, 1982/1983; purchased by NGA, 1983.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1983

  • Dessins Originaux Anciens et Modernes, Paul Proute, Paris, 1983, no. 15.

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 94.

Wikidata ID

Q64572341

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