Back to the cradle
 

I was going over some reference material this morning when I came across these few that I would like to share with you all.
We are all familiar with the greats and their legacy, and how much of their revered work inspire us when we see them hanging in the hollowed museum walls. But many times I am drawn back to the work behind the work which I have always preferred as it always gives us (me, at least) a better window to the essence of the author. Which is why many times I prefer intimate, personal, works on paper since they were made, in principle, to please not the client but the artist and many times these were kept in their private collection only to be discovered and inventoried after their demise.
The four I have chosen below are some of my personal favourites ( I have SO MANY personal favourites), and I stare at them every now and then and they help me, by their sheer beauty and sensitivity and delicateness and mastery (many times with so few marks), to NOT lose my "true north". But, yes, yes, learn and absorb and apply, not empty mimickry.

1) Rafael Sanzio--Head of a woman --red chalk on paper
2) Hans Holbein the Younger --Study of a clergyman--black chalk, red chalk, pen and brush and black ink on paper
3) Diego Vel

Thanks for posting these. I particularly love the Sorolla, especially the deep dark shadows. One of the reasons I enjoy painting men is you get to use very dramatic light -- perfectly exemplified by that head. Thanks, Carlos!

Carlos, these are beautiful and thanks for showing them to us. I have never seen Sorolla's "Head of an old man". At "Ask Art" you can often find studies of exisiting paintings, which are also fun to look at.