Study of a Young Man

This drawing from life shows off Signorelli’s technique and working practices. Overlapping chalk lines show where he has strengthened and adjusted the figure. There are tiny holes outlining the body and details. These reveal that the image was transferred onto another piece of paper or a panel by a method called pouncing. A muslin bag filled with chalk dust would have been pressed against the drawing to transfer the image through the holes. The squared grid was used to enlarge the figure and transfer it to a larger sized grid drawn on a wall.