Male nude study.

Drawing, red chalk (sanguine), 29,3 x 41,3 cm, laid paper with watermark (not in Heawood/Churchill), unsigned (some glue marks at corners, tiny tear at left edge, sl. soiled).

Under passe-partout.

A splendid nude study of a young man clinging to a rock. The hatchings in the background and the dynamic use of red chalk to establish luminous effects, reflects some aspects of the drawing style of the Bolognese painter Ubaldo Gandolfi (1728-1781). Gandolfi's work ranges from Baroque to Neoclassic styles, and specifically recalls the style of Ludovico Carracci. Comparable are a sheet with a sitting male nude study (Christie's sale 27-05-2020, lot 22), and a drawing with a similar subject now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum New York (inv. 80.3.335).