Head of a Man in Profile to Right
Medium
Pen and brown ink, over black chalk
Dimensions
2 3/8 x 2 1/4in. (6 x 5.7cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971
Accession Number
1972.118.264
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intimate drawing by Parmigianino captures the profile of a man with remarkable economy and grace. Created during the artist’s lifetime (1503–40), the work exemplifies the refined draftsmanship of the Italian Mannerist period. Parmigianino, celebrated for his elegant distortions of form and fluid line, often explored the human head in quick studies that reveal both observation and idealization. Executed in pen and brown ink over black chalk on a tiny sheet measuring just over two inches, the drawing demonstrates how Renaissance artists used such modest media to experiment with light, cont...
About the Artist
Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) · 1503–1540
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, known as Parmigianino, was born on January 11, 1503, in Parma, into a family of artists. The eighth child of painter Filippo Mazzola and Donatella Abbati, he lost his father to the plague at age two and was raised by his uncles, Michele and Pier Ilario Mazzola, modestly talented painters who taught him the techniques of the craft. By his late teens, Parmigianino d...