Adolph von Menzel
(Breslau 1815 – 1905 Berlin)
Study of an Italian Boy, c. 1884
Black chalk
13.2 x 20.5 cm
Signed with monogram lower left "A. M.", and inscribed by the artist lower right "Anton d. Masson Friedens Str. 51"
The drawing relates to the painting Piazza d'Erbe (1884) in Dresden. According to Marie Ursula Riemann-Reyher, Menzel visited Italian residents in Berlin and drew them in various poses. Not all of these studies were used in the painting.