Group of Figures Copied from Michelangelo's Last Judgment

Art Historical Context

This delicate drawing by Francesco Allegrini, 17th-century Italian from Gubbio, captures a dynamic *Group of Figures* copied from Michelangelo's monumental *Last Judgment* fresco in the Sistine. Created between 1624 and 1663, it exemplifies the enduring reverence for Michelangelo's Renaissance genius during the Baroque era, when artists meticulously studied and reproduced the master's muscular, expressive forms to hone their skills and spread his influence. Executed in pen and brown ink over faint traces of black chalk, framing lines on its mount, the work showcases Allegrini's precise technique. The small scale— just 3-3/4 x 5-5/16 inches—highlights its role as an intimate study, ideal for sketchbooks or workshops. Brown ink lent a warm, tonal depth, allowing Allegrini to evoke the dramatic torsion and emotional intensity of Michelangelo's damned souls and rising figures. Today, this drawing resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Drawings and Prints, a gift from Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1880. It invites visitors to appreciate how copies like this bridged Renaissance innovation with later artistic traditions, preserving the raw power of human anatomy in motion.

About the Artist

Francesco Allegrini · 1615–1679

Francesco Allegrini (c. 1615/20–after 1679), born likely in Rome to the painter Flaminio Allegrini from Cantiano near Gubbio, emerged from a family of artists that included his sister, Anna Angelica Allegrini. He trained under Giuseppe Cesari, known as the Cavalier d’Arpino, around 1638–40, before entering the studio of Pietro da Cortona, whose dynamic Baroque style profoundly shaped his own. Elec...