Studies of feet and legs

Unknown Italian painter

First quarter of the 16th c. Drawing in brown ink

The six studies of feet and legs, modelled after antique sculptures, were made by an unknown young Italian artist-pupil in the first quarter of the 16th century. The current set, with all the drawings assembled on one panel, dates from the 18th century, when the drawings belonged to the famous British painter and art collector Joshua Reynolds. The text written in French in the upper part of the sheet suggests that the drawings were made by the German Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer; three variations of his monogram accompany the text. Dürer’s monogram may have been on the largest drawing in the centre, which had been removed from the panel before the drawings reached the Kadriorg Museum. Stylistically, the drawings do not resemble Dürer’s works. They were probably attributed to the German master because of his reputation as an ardent drawer and his four-volume handbook on human proportions (published in 1528).