Academic Study of Hands Holding a Staff, Tuscan School, 32 × 23 cm

Academic Study of Hands Holding a Staff, Tuscan School, 32 × 23 cm

Mid-19th century

Pencil on paper

Academic drawing on thick paper depicting two hands holding a staff, executed with remarkable precision and balance. The work was not drawn from life but follows an established academic model, probably used in Tuscan art schools for anatomical training. The careful structure of the fingers and the subtle modulation of light reveal a disciplined approach typical of mid-19th-century academic exercises.

A comparable drawing by the Florentine painter Francesco Curradi (1570–1661), preserved in the Fondo Corsini at the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome and titled Hands Holding a Staff, shows almost the same position of the fingers and gesture in a 17th-century version. The comparison confirms the Tuscan origin of the model and the continuity of the Florentine academic tradition through the centuries.

From two large portfolios discovered in an old Tuscan property, containing drawings and copies made between the 18th century and the first quarter of the 20th century — including anatomical studies, drawings after plaster casts, and exercises inspired by sacred and mythological subjects.

Thick paper with irregular edges and light traces of studio use.