The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 17, 2025

Sketches of Five Arms and a Head (verso)

mid 1500s

Luzio Romano

(Italian, active 1528–75)
Italy, 16th century
pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash, and charcoal underdrawing
Sheet: 31.6 x 21.6 cm (12 7/16 x 8 1/2 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1925.1190.b
Location: Not on view

Description

Luzio Romano’s drawing of arms and a head were made from a flayed body (a cadaver with its skin removed). The triangle placed over the facial profile points to the Renaissance artist’s interest in geometry and to the idea that the human body is the primary model of perfect proportions.
  • [P. & D. Colnaghi Co.]
  • Master/Apprentice: Imitation and Inspiration in the Renaissance. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 13, 2019-February 23, 2020).
  • {{cite web|title=Sketches of Five Arms and a Head (verso)|url=false|author=Luzio Romano|year=mid 1500s|access-date=17 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1925.1190.b