Group of Youths

The drawing Group of Youths was executed between 1600 and 1699 by an artist working after Raffaello Sanzio, called Raphael Italian, 1483-1520. This preparatory study, created roughly a century after the Renaissance master’s death, speaks to the enduring influence of Raphael’s compositional genius and anatomical ideals throughout 17th-century Italy. Copies of foundational works were a central element of academic artistic training during the Baroque period, allowing followers and students to master the principles of classical form, gesture, and idealism established by the great 16th-century masters. This specific drawing is likely a faithful rendition or adaptation of a known composition or fresco detail, designed for study or dissemination among contemporary artists.

Classified strictly as a drawing, the piece showcases skillful use of red chalk, the primary medium, enhanced by subtle traces of black chalk used to define contours and add dimensional depth. The artist worked on tan laid paper, which has subsequently been laid down onto a cream support, a common conservation method. This delicate medium was ideal for capturing the soft musculature and idealized forms of the subjects, focusing attention entirely on figure work. Such detailed studies often served as templates for subsequent paintings, engravings, or prints, furthering the reach of the original composition. This important example of post-Raphaelesque academic practice is housed in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, offering valuable insight into the continuation of Renaissance aesthetics in later European art.