Young Man Holding a Book

With economical touches of the pen and brush, the Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo—a master of the ink medium—deftly conveys this standing male figure's form, features, and placement in space. The work most likely belongs to a series of drawings of clothed figures known as the Sole Figure Vestite, which the artist produced for reference, experimentation, and the demonstration of his virtuosic technique.