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This is a drawing of a classical figure with outstretched arms and a set of detailed sketches of hands below it. The primary figure in the drawing appears to be sketching the upper torso and head of a person seen from below and to the side. The figure's arms are extended wide. The drawing also contains multiple smaller sketches of hands in various gestures and positions. The artwork employs thin lines and subtle shading, using pencil or graphite on aged paper.
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This is a drawing of a classical figure with outstretched arms and a set of detailed sketches of hands below it. The primary figure in the drawing appears to be sketching the upper torso and head of a person seen from below and to the side. The figure's arms are extended wide. The drawing also contains multiple smaller sketches of hands in various gestures and positions. The artwork employs thin lines and subtle shading, using pencil or graphite on aged paper.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

Ascension of the Magdalene

Baldassare Franceschini

Date
late 1650s
Medium
black chalk heightened with white on laid paper
Dimensions
Overall (approximate): 25 x 40 cm (9 13/16 x 15 3/4 in.) support: 29.5 x 43.2 cm (11 5/8 x 17 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1980.41.2
Credit line
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Time span
1651 to 1700
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • Florentine
  • saints
  • religious
  • Mary Magdalene
Provenance

Private collection (sale, Sotheby's, London, 3 July 1980, no. 32a, and mentioned in the Introduction); NGA purchase (via Yvonne ffrench) in 1980.

NGA object ID 57636. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.