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Head of a Man

1575–1633
Not on view
The Lombard artist known as Tanzio da Varallo developed a bold, personal style based on his training 
in his father’s workshop and his exposure to the works of Caravaggio (1571–1610) in Rome. This striking 
study in red chalk seems to be preparatory for one of the shepherds in Tanzio’s fresco of the Annunciation to the Shepherds, in the church of Santa Maria della Pace, in Milan, a project that dates to the artist’s final years. The man’s pronounced nose, patchy facial hair, and angular features are captured with an immediacy typical of Tanzio’s draftsmanship. The upper portion 
of the sheet includes a sketch of the man’s eyes and furrowed brow, while the lower left includes a more schematic outline study of the figure’s chin and neck.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of a Man
  • Artist: Antonio d'Enrico Tanzio (Tanzio da Varallo) (Italian, Riale d'Alagna 1575/80–1632/33 Novara)
  • Date: 1575–1633
  • Medium: Red chalk
  • Dimensions: 11 15/16 x 7 13/16in. (30.4 x 19.9cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Wildenstein Gift, 1996
  • Object Number: 1996.115
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Landscape with Mountains, Antonio d'Enrico Tanzio (Tanzio da Varallo) Italian, Red chalk, highlighted with white chalk, on pink prepared paper
Landscape with Mountains
Antonio d'Enrico Tanzio (Tanzio da Varallo)
n.d.
Priest with Upraised Arms Wearing a Two-Horned Tiara, Antonio d'Enrico Tanzio (Tanzio da Varallo) Italian, Red chalk on red-washed paper
Priest with Upraised Arms Wearing a Two-Horned Tiara
Antonio d'Enrico Tanzio (Tanzio da Varallo)
1575–1633
Studies for an Angel in Glory, Antonio d'Enrico Tanzio (Tanzio da Varallo) Italian, Red chalk on off-white laid paper washed pale ochre; main study squared for transfer
Studies for an Angel in Glory
Antonio d'Enrico Tanzio (Tanzio da Varallo)
1595–1633
Lucretia, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Pen and brown ink over black chalk, partially incised with a stylus (recto); rubbed with black chalk for transfer (verso)
Lucretia
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
1508–10
Studies for the Libyan Sibyl (recto); Studies for the Libyan Sibyl and a small Sketch for a Seated Figure (verso), Michelangelo Buonarroti Italian, Red chalk, with small accents of white chalk on the left shoulder of the figure in the main study (recto); soft black chalk, or less probably charcoal (verso)
Studies for the Libyan Sibyl (recto); Studies for the Libyan Sibyl and a small Sketch for a Seated Figure (verso)
Michelangelo Buonarroti
ca. 1510–11

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