For this Private Viewing, I am delighted to present a particularly compelling work by Federico Barocci, one of the most inventive draughtsmen of the Italian Renaissance and a pioneering master in the use of coloured chalks and pastel.
This remarkable Study of a Bearded Man, executed in black and red chalk, stumping, pastel and white heightening on brown-prepared paper, is striking for both its scale and its extraordinary sense of presence. Barocci builds the face through the most delicate transitions of colour and light, giving particular intensity to the sitter’s thoughtful, almost melancholic gaze. More than a preparatory study, the sheet has the immediacy of a true portrait, capturing with remarkable subtlety the psychology and humanity of its subject. The attribution has been confirmed by Andrea Emiliani and Nicholas Turner.
Expertise - English