Saint Jerome (recto); Soldier with a Spear (verso)

Vittore Carpaccio

1460–1525 · Brush with black ink and gray wash, over traces of black chalk or charcoal, highlighted with white gouache on blue paper (recto); black chalk, highlighted with white gouache, with some brush and gray wash (verso) · Drawings and Prints

Carpaccio was among the first to explore the possibilities of drawing on blue paper. This study of an old man was made for the figure of Saint Jerome in the altarpiece of the cathedral of Zadar (Croatia), painted about 1493. The artist built up the forms through straight lines that correspond to his stiff conception of the figure, but his choice of media suffuses the drawing with a sense of atmosphere and light. The drawing of a soldier with a spear on the back of the sheet is likely a preparatory study as well.

Artist

Vittore Carpaccio

Date

1460–1525

Medium

Brush with black ink and gray wash, over traces of black chalk or charcoal, highlighted with white gouache on blue paper (recto); black chalk, highlighted with white gouache, with some brush and gray wash (verso)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Harry G. Sperling Fund, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and Fletcher and Rogers Funds, 1998