Four Studies for Half-Length Portraits of Men

Panini is celebrated for his real and imaginary views of Rome and its environs. These works are often populated with numerous small figures, many of which the artist evidently studied from life. This drawing comprises four male portraits, of which those at the upper left and lower right may represent Panini himself. The two most significant groups of studies by Panini are in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, and the British Museum, London, which preserves an album of figure drawings in red and black chalk. Few of these sheets are portraits, however, making the present drawing, unpublished before it came on the market in 1998, a significant addition to the artist's oeuvre.