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The image depicts a sketch of a person in a leaning position. The figure is shown from the knees up, resting against a railing or similar structure. The facial features are indistinct, with shadows suggesting eyes and a tilted head, with hair that appears to be roughly sketched or covered. The clothing is loose-fitting and draped, with shadows indicating folds. A bundled object is hanging from the person's waist. There is no visible jewelry. The background is plain, with faint text in red and black partially obscured by the figure.
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The image depicts a sketch of a person in a leaning position. The figure is shown from the knees up, resting against a railing or similar structure. The facial features are indistinct, with shadows suggesting eyes and a tilted head, with hair that appears to be roughly sketched or covered. The clothing is loose-fitting and draped, with shadows indicating folds. A bundled object is hanging from the person's waist. There is no visible jewelry. The background is plain, with faint text in red and black partially obscured by the figure.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

A Man Leaning on a Structure

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Date
later 1760s
Medium
pen and dark brown ink on fragment of a printed title page
Dimensions
overall: 16.1 × 9.9 cm (6 5/16 × 3 7/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1983.27.1
Credit line
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Time span
1751 to 1775
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • Standing
  • Venetian
  • male
  • figure
Provenance

Paul Proute Gallery, Paris, 1982/1983; purchased by NGA, 1983.

NGA object ID 62306. 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.