Jacopo CHIMENTI dit Jacopo da EMPOLI ( 1551 - 1640), Etude recto verso

Study of draped man (recto)
Study of a figure (verso)
Jacopo CHIMENTI known as Jacopo da EMPOLI (Florence, 1551 - 1640)

Black stone and white chalk highlights on blue prepared paper
Annotated on verso in pen: "Disegno di Andrea del Sarto : Prezzo ristretto 3 Zecchini".
388 x 230 mm

Provenance: Coll. part. Paris

Comparative bibliography: Marabottini, L'Empoli, Roma 1988


Jacopo da Empoli studied with Maso da San Friano, copying, according to Baldinucci, the work of Andrea del Sarto and other Renaissance masters. From 1609 to 1617, he worked in Via dei Servi in Florence, before moving to Piazza San Marco. His earliest dated work is a 1571 Madonna and Child in the Louvre. A large number of his drawings were purchased by Cardinal Leopold de' Medici, and are now kept at the Uffizi Museum. Our sheet is typical of Empoli's graphic production, characterized by thick, supportive outlines in black stone and ample drapery in the hollows, giving the work a sculptural appearance.

Colored paper is also a classic support for Jacopo, enabling him to create quite painterly images. Our drawing has not yet been linked to a known composition, but the figure's attitude seems to be that of a painter at his easel. Perhaps he was one of the artists around him.