Cignani, according to Dwight Miller, was the leading painter in Bologna in the later decades of the 17th century[1]. Apparently of Bolognese nobility, Cignani bore the title of Conte.  By the third quarter of the century, after a sojourn in Rome from 1662-65,  he worked in Bologna and Parma with important ecclesiastical and aristocratic commissions.



Early in his career, Cignani expressed his admiration for Antonio Corregio’s delicately modeled forms and brilliant color, and his contemporaries remarked on these qualities in Cignani’s painting. As well, the classicism of Guido Reni and Domenichino exerted an influence on the artist.  By the 1680s Cignani had  received commissions throughout Italy and Germany and his brilliantly executed paintings and frescoes received wild admiration from patrons and contemporary commentators. In 1709 Cignani became the first Principe of the Accademia Clementina, Bologna’s first Academy of Art. This honor was conveyed upon him for life, never again thus awarded.[2]



Cignani was a perfectionist, often spending much time carefully working himself on his commissions, even if he had a large and expert studio at his command. Cignani’s drawings reflect not only his perfectionism, but also his remarkable delicacy and poise in physical forms. Our nude young man, bending forward and slightly turned backward as he draws a bow, shows a delicate balance between movement and stasis, this quality subtly revealed by the delicate shading enhancing the careful definition of the body. The only concession Cignani made to the movement of the subject is the young man’s tousled hair.



We may compare our sheet with the Venus Holding a Bow also in in the British Museum (1946, 0713.1319) and to the Standing Female Nude at the Metropolitan Museum of art (62.120.9) both of which show Cignani’s delicate modeling of the figure.



243 x 345 mm    9 5/8 x 13 ½ inches





[1] Dwight Miller, in The Dictionary of Art, V. 7. pp 307- 309



[2] op. cit. p. 308