A Prophet Addressed by an Angel

1517/1519

Sebastiano del Piombo

Associated Names
Sebastiano del Piombo

Artist, Venetian, 1485 - 1547

The image depicts two male figures partially shown at the waist and shoulder respectively. The central figure is seated, slightly leaning to the side, and looking upwards towards the other person. This man's face is in profile with a prominent nose, beard, and a full head of hair. He is dressed in large, flowing garments with detailed folds and appears to be holding an open book or tablet on his lap. The second figure, positioned in the background to the left, is standing and leaning forward, gazing intently at the seated man. This figure's facial features are more obscured, however, he has curly hair and is also dressed in loose-fitting clothing. The surrounding scene and the background are sketch-like with visible grids, suggesting an unfinished or preparatory work, with a textured surface that suggests an atmospheric setting.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black chalk with gray and brown wash above four stylus arcs at bottom right, heightened with white and squared with red chalk on blue paper, laid down on late eighteenth/early nineteenth-century mount

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Robert H. and Clarice Smith

  • Dimensions

    overall: 32 × 25 cm (12 5/8 × 9 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1985.40.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Guillaume Hubert [d. 1760] (Lugt 1160), Paris; Thomas Hudson [1701-1779] (Lugt 2432), London; (sale, Langford, 17 March 1779, part of no. 44, as Pellegrino Tibaldi); William Roscoe (sale, Thomas Winstanley, Liverpool, 23-29 September 1816, no. 348, as Pellegrino Tibaldi). Private collection (sale, London, Christie's, 5 April 1977, no. 43); purchased by David Tunick Gallery, New York; Robert and Clarice Smith, Bethesda, Maryland; given to NGA in 1985.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, p. 36-37.

1986

  • Graphics Survey Exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., April 1986.

1988

  • Italian Renaissance Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1988, no cat.

1999

  • "Roma e lo stile classico di Raffaello 1515-1527", Akademiehof, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna, 1999, no. 175.

2003

  • Disegno Veneto, The Moravian Gallery Brno, Czeck Republic, no. 2

2008

  • Sebastiano del Piombo, 1485-1547. Palazzo di Venezia, Rome; Kulturforum, Berlin, 2008, no. 73 (entry by Paul Joannides).

2009

  • Sebastiano del Piombo e la Cappella Borgherini nel Contesto dello Pittura Rinascimentale, Real Academia de Espana en Roma, Rome, May 13-14 2009

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 14.

2017

  • Michelangelo Divine Draftsman and Designer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2017.

  • Michelangelo & Sebastiano, The National Gallery, London, 2017, no. 34.

Bibliography

1980

  • Lucco, Mauro. L'Opera completa di Sebastiano del Piombo. Milan, 1980: 109, fig. 50(2).

1981

  • Hirst, Michael. Sebastiano del Piombo. Oxford, 1981: 57, pl.82.

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 294, color repro.

1998

  • "National Gallery of Art Library" informational brochure. Washington, 1998: cover, [3], color repros.

1999

  • Roma e lo stile classico di Raffaello. Exh. cat. Mantua and Vienna, 1999: 249.

2003

  • Disegno veneto. Moravska galerie, Brno, 2003: 12-13, 162-163.

2008

  • Carratu, Tullia, Sebastiano del Piombo a Roma 1511-1547._ Milan: Federico Motta Editore (2008): 35.

  • Sebastiano del Piombo 1485-1547. Exh. cat. Palazzo di Venezia, Rome; Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. Milan, 2008: 268-269.

Inscriptions

inscribed on mount verso in 19th-century graphite: “San.Matteo/Pellegrino Tibaldi” and “No 1235”

Wikidata ID

Q64630701

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