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Seated Male Nude
About the Artwork
Both Baccio Bandinelli and Michelangelo made figure drawing the foundation of their artistic and inventive processes. In this drawing, Bandinelli reimagined one of Michelangelo’s ignudi, the athletic male nudes that decorate the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Probably drawing from a live model, Bandinelli combined controlled, defined lines and smudges to create a massively muscled form, that, like Michelangelo’s figures, refers to ancient sculpture as well as to knowledge of anatomy. His use of red chalk—Michelangelo’s preferred medium for sketching the ignudi—suggests that he sought to compare his own prowess in the medium to that of the better-known master.
Provenance
1964: Sotheby's, New York, 1 December 1964, lot 170 (as Rosso Fiorentino) with Hans Calmann, London, and W. H. Schab, New York 1987: Christie's, London, 8 December 1987, lot 72 Private Collection, New York 1998: Sotheby's, New York, 28 January 1998, lot 69 (bought in) 1998: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Drawn to the Body: The Human Figure and the Graphic Arts, 1500-1900. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 14-May 23, 1999). Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002). Master/Apprentice: Imitation and Inspiration in the Renaissance. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 13, 2019-February 23, 2020).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Baccio Bandinelli (Italian, 1493–1560)
- Date
- c. 1516–20
- Medium
- red chalk
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 40 x 23.7 cm (15 3/4 x 9 5/16 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1998.6
More by Baccio Bandinelli in museum collections
Study for a Standing Young Man, Raising a Curtain and Looking at Left
Baccio Bandinelli1518–19 · Drawing
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00011082
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