Home Online catalogues Studi & Schizzi 77. Jacopo Vignali Pratovecchio 1592 – 1664 Florence Head of a Young Woman Looking Down to Left This drawing reveals Jacopo Vignali’s great sensitivity and meticulousness in the handling of light and shade. The artist combined red and black chalks in a particularly elegant manner: each medium is used to depict light as well as to add colour. The red chalk is reserved for the ribbon tied round the model’s hair and for the flesh tones. The rosy appearance of her face suggests the warm light of a fireplace or a candle. A dense, regular network of hatched lines allows Vignali to signal the darker areas; these disappear in the upper part of the hair and the back of the young woman’s neck indicating, thanks to the brightness of the paper, where the light falls.
This drawing reveals Jacopo Vignali’s great sensitivity and meticulousness in the handling of light and shade. The artist combined red and black chalks in a particularly elegant manner: each medium is used to depict light as well as to add colour. The red chalk is reserved for the ribbon tied round the model’s hair and for the flesh tones. The rosy appearance of her face suggests the warm light of a fireplace or a candle. A dense, regular network of hatched lines allows Vignali to signal the darker areas; these disappear in the upper part of the hair and the back of the young woman’s neck indicating, thanks to the brightness of the paper, where the light falls.