Männlicher Rückenakt, Torso, ca. 1520 – 1525

About the Work

In view of the torso figure and the modelling of certain muscle sections using strong contrasts of light and dark (rilievo), the drawing bears reference to an antique sculpture, which may have served the artist as a model. Yet because the figure’s pose alternates between motion and staticity, it is conceivable that the artist also took inspiration from a live model, perhaps as a means of enhancing certain areas. It thus combines observation of nature and artistic interpretation in a manner characteristic of the dawn of the sixteenth century.