Bust-Length Study of a Child

1708–87

Not on view

Drawn after life, this delicate study renders the child's head and shoulders with the quiet naturalism that seems characteristic of Batoni, the eminent portraitist in the Neoclassical tradition. Born in Lucca, Batoni achieved a phenomenal international reputation as a painter, especially as a portraitist, and for decades was a prominent figure in the social and intellectual circles of Rome during the Enlightenment. The Museum owns two other drawings by Pompeo Batoni, one of which is a sheet of figure studies from the same date as this sheet (inv. no. 1975.131.5), and several canvases. The attribution to Batoni was confirmed by Edgar Peters Bowron, the noted specialist of the artist's oeuvre who edited the posthumous monograph by Anthony Clark.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Bust-Length Study of a Child
Artist: Pompeo Batoni (Italian, Lucca 1708–1787 Rome)
Date: 1708–87
Medium: Black chalk, hightlighted with white chalk
Dimensions: 6 3/16 x 7 7/16in. (15.7 x 18.9cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Gift of Thomas Williams, 1998
Object Number: 1998.178
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Pompeo Batoni

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Allegory in Honor of Pope Benedict XIV, Pompeo Batoni Italian, Red chalk, highlighted with white, on beige paper — Allegory in Honor of Pope Benedict XIV
Pompeo Batoni
ca. 1745

Three Nude Male Figures; Study of the Right Hand of the Figure on the Left, Pompeo Batoni Italian, Red chalk — Three Nude Male Figures; Study of the Right Hand of the Figure on the Left
Pompeo Batoni
1708–87

Diana and Cupid, Pompeo Batoni Italian, Oil on canvas — Diana and Cupid
Pompeo Batoni
1761

Portrait of a Young Man, Pompeo Batoni Italian, Oil on canvas — Portrait of a Young Man
Pompeo Batoni
ca. 1760–65

John Montagu, Lord Brudenell, Later Marquess of Monthermer, Pompeo Batoni Italian, Oil on canvas — John Montagu, Lord Brudenell, Later Marquess of Monthermer
Pompeo Batoni
1758

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