Study of Staffage Figures – A Mounted Donkey with a Man
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Catalogue Number:
38
Artist:
18th Century Venetian Copyist
Title:
Study for Staffage Figures – A Mounted Donkey with a Man on Foot
Work Type:
Drawing
Date:
18th Century
Culture:
Italian
Medium:
Gray ink and sanguine washes on tan prepared laid paper
Dimensions:
4 1/4 in. h X 6 1/8 in. w
Inscriptions & Annotations:
Mount inscribed Benefial: Italian / Figures (graphite); Verso: Annotated 5 / 116 / Benefial 1684-1764 (graphite)
Condition:
Generally clean, intact, and stable
Credit Line:
Cornell College, Gift of Robert Sonnenschein II
Accession Year:
1951
Object Number:
1951.38
Commentary:
Staffage figures are usually minor figures included in a landscape painting to provide a human context to the scene. They have been attributed to this context because of their small size and general orientation away from the viewer, as if they are continuing on a journey. These drawings were formerly attributed to Marco Benefial, but upon further research, that attribution doesn’t seem as accurate.