The Unrepentant Thief

c. 1530

Sodoma

(Italian, 1477–1549)

Culture

Italy, 16th century

Medium

black chalk

Support

Cream(1) laid paper lined with Japanese paper

Measurements

Sheet: 14 x 8.7 cm (5 1/2 x 3 7/16 in.); Secondary Support: 14.8 x 9.5 cm (5 13/16 x 3 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1998.108

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Location

Not on view

Description

Two thieves were crucified with Christ on Mount Golgotha. One, recognizing Christ's innocence, re-pented his sins, while the other reviled him. In paintings of the crucifixion, this unrepentant thief is depicted at Christ's left. The angle of the cross in this drawing indicates that it is the unrepentant thief who here struggles against the binding ropes. Sodoma was born and trained in Lombardy, but spent most of his life in Siena, where he dominated Sienese painting during the first half of the 16th century. Known for his emotionally charged paintings as well as for his eccentric lifestyle, Sodoma's individuality is evident in his drawings. Here, in the first drawing by this important Renaissance artist to enter the museum's collection, the scratchy and trailing lines of the figure, with its various pentimenti (changes) create the active tension and nervous movement that both enliven the form and suggest the pain of the suffering thief.