Bearded Nude Male Figure Running Toward the Right

Stefano da Verona (Stefano di Giovanni d'Arbosio di Francia)

mid-15th century · Pen and brown ink. · Robert Lehman Collection

The strong contours of this sheet, seen especially in the treatment of the hair and beard, recalls Stefano da Verona's drawing style, as are the parallel hatched lines used to create shading. The drawing was likely produced by a follower of the artist. The identity of this nude male figure running in a landscape, bearing the attributes of a single boot, a shield, and a spray of flowers, remains enigmatic. It may represent a mythological god -- perhaps Jupiter -- or an allegorical figure. It is also possible that it depicts a wild man, a mythical figure covered in hair who was popular in medieval and Renaissance legend. Symbolizing strength and the balance between the human and natural world, wild men were frequently depicted bearing a heraldic shield. A significant document in the early history of collecting, the drawing bears a partially canceled collector's mark and an inscription (“Questo desegno fo de felixo") to the right of a cross bisecting a circle in either half of which is placed the initials "f" and "e", which could have been written by the early fifteenth-century Veronese collector, Felice Feliciano.

Artist

Stefano da Verona (Stefano di Giovanni d'Arbosio di Francia)

Date

mid-15th century

Medium

Pen and brown ink.

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975