SIGNORELLI, Luca
(b. ca. 1450, Cortona, d. 1523, Cortona)

Study of nudes

c. 1500
Charcoal, pen and wash, 343 x 187 mm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Signorelli studied firsthand from the living model to create his marvelous drawings, which are often specific preparatory efforts for his frescoes. The only artist whose skill as a draftsman could equal that of Signorelli was the young Florentine sculptor who was required to paint a vast cycle in Rome a few years later, namely Michelangelo. It comes as no surprise that Michelangelo was not only acquainted with the painter from Cortona, but even lent him money.