Studies of a Costume, Sleeve, and Hand (c. 1747): Art, History and Details

Studies of a Costume, Sleeve, and Hand (c. 1747) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Pietro Longhi (Italian, 1702–1785).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The drawings of the prolific draftsman Pietro Longhi concentrate on the details of costume and gesture to convey the character and social class of his subjects. Here, the artist skillfully exploits black chalk to render the cut of a man’s frock coat and red chalk to simulate the flesh tones of his hand gripping a walking stick.

Object facts

• Title: Studies of a Costume, Sleeve, and Hand
• Date: c. 1747
• Creator attribution: Pietro Longhi (Italian, 1702–1785)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: black chalk (costume) and red chalk (sleeve and hand)
• Dimensions: Sheet: 24.7 x 18.4 cm (9 3/4 x 7 1/4 in.); Secondary Support: 35 x 27.4 cm (13 3/4 x 10 13/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - Italian
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 1996.210

A detail from the museum

Three-piece suits such as the one depicted here were worn all over Europe in the 1700s, with the most expensive made from silk or velvet.

Collection credit

Gift of the Artemis Group/David Carritt, Ltd.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.