Nude Youth Seated

Through his collecting and artistic practices, amateur English artist John Skippe demonstrated a preference for antiquarian themes. Influenced by drawings he collected during his travels throughout Europe, many of his prints reproduce works by Old Master artists. John Skippe’s chiaroscuro woodcut “Nude Youth Seated” demonstrates the dynamic style of Michelangelo, reproducing a design attributed to the renowned Renaissance artist in which a seated youth twists his torso and extends his right arm across his body. A specific source for the figure is as yet unidentified. Skippe formed the image using four tone blocks printing shades from light tan to dark brown.