1935.885
Man in Classical Costume
Artists
Artist Unidentified (Italian)
[
formerly attributed to
Pasquale Romanelli];
Title
Man in Classical Costume
Creation Date
n.d.
Century
late 16th century
Dimensions
7 in. x 10 1/16 in. (17.8 cm. x 25.5 cm.)
Object Type
drawing
Creation Place
Europe, Italy
Medium and Support
chalk on paper
Credit Line
Bequest of Charles Potter Kling
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
1935.885
This striding figure twists his upper body strongly away from the viewer while still displaying his navel, an impossible feat for a living human body. Mannerist artists often strained the human form into decorative shapes defying nature’s limits. Michelangelo recommended to his students that they use the figura serpentinata, an S-shaped form that twists and moves like a serpent, in order to capture not only living movement but also intense grace. Wearing fashionable ankle-high sandals on his tiny feet, a garment that billows out behind in bulging flaps and a fillet around his small head, this figure was probably prepared for some ancient story of plunder or flight, since he appears to carry a sack flung over his shoulder.