Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, Three Women, and an Angel

Adriaan de Weerdt|Hendrick van den Broeck

mid 16th century · Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash; framing lines in pen and brown ink, by the artist · Drawings and Prints

According to Karel van Mander’s "Schilder-boeck" of 1604, the Brussels artist Adriaan de Weerdt "set his heart exclusively on the manner of Parmigianino, whom he tried to imitate with all his might." In drawing such as this sheet, which must be dated during or after De Weerdt’s stay in Italy, the artist followed the model of the great artist from Parma in subject, style and technique. Only a small number of other drawings and oil sketches on paper by De Weerdt survive. In addition, his style, characterized by a flowing line and extremely elongated, graceful figures, is recorded in several engravings, published in Cologne, where the artist lived from 1566 and where he also died.

Artist

Adriaan de Weerdt|Hendrick van den Broeck

Date

mid 16th century

Medium

Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash; framing lines in pen and brown ink, by the artist

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2015