Standing Nude Woman

Author: Esmé van der Krieke

The size of the sheet and the subtle use of line with fine hatching give this impressive red chalk drawing of a female nude a powerful impact. Tight outlines and chiaroscuro contrasts convincingly express the three-dimensionality of her muscular body. The veil covering the woman’s hair and genitals, on the other hand, is quite stiffly rendered. The woman’s stance, with her hands behind her back and her head poking forward, also seems to be somewhat cramped.

The collector Adriaan Domela Nieuwenhuis donated the sheet to the museum in 1923 and described it in his inventory as a nude study by the Florentine artist Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530) intended for or drawn after a caryatid, a female figure serving as an architectural support.^[1] Caryatids of this kind, first found in classical antiquity, often consist solely of the torso and head of a woman. In the Renaissance these supporting female figures flourished again, not just in architecture but also as decorative elements in frescoes, paintings, drawings and prints.^[2] The woman’s sturdy posture and legs that taper down to nothing in the drawing certainly suggest that this is a caryatid or a similar architectural sculpture. Independently of Domela Nieuwenhuis, Martin Clayton (Royal Collection, Windsor) came to the same conclusion.^[3] He also suggested that the naturalistic elements in the drawing, such as the torso, arms and head, were based on a live model, whereas the stiffly rendered drapery and legs came from the artist’s imagination.

Although it is difficult to securely attribute the sheet to a specific artist, this is a bold and accomplished drawing, probably by a skilful artist who was working in the vicinity of Florence around 1530 or 1540.^[4] In this period Michelangelo (1475-1564) was finishing his drawings in a soft style, with a preference for slightly exaggerated muscular figures, as can be seen in drawings in New York and London.^[5] This style had a strong influence on other artists, particularly Baccio Bandinelli (1493-1560) and Francesco Salviati (1510-1563).^[6] For the time being we therefore place the anonymous maker of our drawing in this environment.