Head of the Virgin Looking Upwards
c. 1615
Medium
Black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on brown laid paper
Dimensions
25.5 × 17.3 cm (10 1/16 × 6 13/16 in.)
Classification
charcoal
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
81717
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Giacomo Cavedone, a Bolognese artist active during the early Baroque period, created this expressive study around 1615. The drawing captures the Virgin Mary with her head tilted upward in quiet devotion, a pose often associated with scenes of the Assumption or Annunciation. As a preparatory work on brown laid paper, it reflects the intense religious feeling and dramatic naturalism that characterized Bolognese art in the wake of the Carracci reforms. Cavedone skillfully employs black chalk heightened with white to model the soft contours of the face and the luminous folds of drapery. The warm brown paper serves as a mid-tone, allowing the artist to build volume through delicate contrasts of light and shadow. This technique, favored in 17th-century Italy, enabled rapid yet sensitive exploration of expression and lighting effects before committing to a larger painting. Though modest in scale, the sheet reveals Cavedone’s gift for conveying spiritual emotion through subtle gestures. Today housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection, it offers visitors an intimate glimpse into the creative process behind Baroque religious imagery.
About the Artist
Giacomo Cavedone
Italian, Sassuolo 1577–1660 Bologna