Male Figure Leaning on a Socle
circa 1543
16th century
17.6 cm x 9.1 cm (6 15/16 in. x 3 9/16 in.)
Juste de Juste
(1505 - 1559)
Primary
Object Type:
print
Artist Nationality:
Europe, French
Medium and Support:
Etching
Credit Line:
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002
Accession Number:
2002.1845
This is one of a series of twelve etchings of single male figures. Anti-classical in their contorted postures and disconcerting in their strained expressions, they elaborate on types that appear in works by Rosso Fiorentino and seem to caricature the ideal nudes of antique statuary. Their meaning and circumstance are, however, unknown. Based on the inscription of a related plate, they are assigned to Juste de Juste, a sculptor from Tours and an assistant at Fontainebleau. The Collection includes two more of these very rare prints.