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Your galleryOld Shepherd Leaning on a Staff
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Notice how the old man’s weight rests on both hands on the staff, then find the sheep drawn with a few quick lines at right.
An old shepherd in a short tunic and cloak leans on his staff, with sheep at right and a tree at left. The drawing’s first recorded owner was Francesco Baiardo, who died in 1561; it later passed through the collections of the Earl of Arundel and Anton Maria Zanetti. The words at the top are tentatively read as “uom si vive.”
Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over black chalk, on paper · 14.1 × 11.8 cm · Art Institute of Chicago · High Renaissance and Mannerism
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Details and source
- Museum title
- Old Shepherd Leaning on a Staff
- Artist
- Francesco Mazzola, called Parmigianino Italian, 1503-1540
- Date
- 1524/31
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over black chalk, on paper
- Dimensions
- 14.1 × 11.8 cm (5 9/16 × 4 11/16 in.)
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Chauncey McCormick and Mrs. Richard E. Danielson
- Image license
- CC0 1.0 · Public domain
- Museum record
- Art Institute of Chicago
Artist’s life 1503–1540
View in the AtlasGaller’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.