Pinturicchio (c. 1454–1513)
Study of a Flying Angel
c. 1481–85
Silverpoint, pen and brush and brown ink with white gouache, on gray prepared paper
Samuel Courtauld Trust: Princes Gate Bequest, 1978
Pinturicchio's Flying Angel derives from the Assumption of the Virgin that his teacher, Perugino, painted in the Sistine Chapel (it was later replaced by Michelangelo's Last Judgment). Pinturicchio may have worked on Perugino's commission; this is, however, not a preparatory sketch but a record of the original. The drawing's finesse and delicate details celebrate the skill of its maker, Pinturicchio, as well as Perugino's original invention.