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The image depicts two male figures partially shown at the waist and shoulder respectively. The central figure is seated, slightly leaning to the side, and looking upwards towards the other person. This man's face is in profile with a prominent nose, beard, and a full head of hair. He is dressed in large, flowing garments with detailed folds and appears to be holding an open book or tablet on his lap. The second figure, positioned in the background to the left, is standing and leaning forward, gazing intently at the seated man. This figure's facial features are more obscured, however, he has curly hair and is also dressed in loose-fitting clothing. The surrounding scene and the background are sketch-like with visible grids, suggesting an unfinished or preparatory work, with a textured surface that suggests an atmospheric setting.
National Gallery of Art · Drawing
A Prophet Addressed by an Angel
Sebastiano del Piombo
- Date
- 1517/1519
- Medium
- black chalk with gray and brown wash above four stylus arcs at bottom right, heightened with white and squared with red chalk on blue paper, laid down on late eighteenth/early nineteenth-century mount
- Dimensions
- overall: 32 × 25 cm (12 5/8 × 9 13/16 in.)
- Classification
- Drawing
- Accession number
- 1985.40.1
- Credit line
- Gift of Robert H. and Clarice Smith
- Time span
- 1501 to 1550
- Department
- CG-E
Subjects and terms
- Venetian
- Old Testament
- religious
- Renaissance
- Prophet
Provenance
Guillaume Hubert [d. 1760] (Lugt 1160), Paris; Thomas Hudson [1701-1779] (Lugt 2432), London; (sale, Langford, 17 March 1779, part of no. 44, as Pellegrino Tibaldi); William Roscoe (sale, Thomas Winstanley, Liverpool, 23-29 September 1816, no. 348, as Pellegrino Tibaldi). Private collection (sale, London, Christie's, 5 April 1977, no. 43); purchased by David Tunick Gallery, New York; Robert and Clarice Smith, Bethesda, Maryland; given to NGA in 1985.
Inscription
inscribed on mount verso in 19th-century graphite: “San.Matteo/Pellegrino Tibaldi” and “No 1235”
NGA object ID 65917. 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.