Group of Draped Figures

Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio)

early 1460s · Tip of the brush (or fine pen?) and brown ink · Robert Lehman Collection

Antonello da Messina's contact with Northern European art had a profound influence on his style. Several features of this drawing—in particular, the elongated proportions of the figures and the heavy drapery arranged in sharp, angular folds—demonstrate Antonello's absorption of Netherlandish and Burgundian styles. A more elaborate drawing of this composition, with the group of figures set against a cityscape, is preserved in the Musée du Louvre. The relationship between the two sheets remains uncertain; the Lehman sheet may be a partial copy of the Louvre version produced by Antonello or a member of his workshop according to his design.

Artist

Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio)

Date

early 1460s

Medium

Tip of the brush (or fine pen?) and brown ink

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975