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Bartolomeo Cesi

Seated Youth Wearing a Monk's Habit: Study for Saint Benedict

1590
Red chalk, heightened with touches of white chalk, on blue laid paper, squared in black and red chalk
35.2 × 21.4 cm (13.9 × 8.4 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This work was modeled on a young studio assistant who appears frequently in Cesi's drawings, but it was preparatory for a painting of a much older Saint Benedict in the church of San Procolo, Bologna. The black chalk grid would have facilitated the artist in the transfer and enlarging of his design.

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