Benedetto Luti | Study of a Girl in Red, 1717

Artist: Benedetto Luti (Italian, Florence 1666-1724 Rome)

Date: 1717

Medium: Pastel and chalk on blue laid paper, laid down on paste paper

Dimensions: 16 1/2 x 13 3/8 in. (41.9 x 34 cm)

Classification: Pastels and Oil Sketches on Paper

Credit Line: Gwynne Andrews Fund, 2007

Accession Number: 2007.361

The sultry young model in red, her dark blond hair touched with butter-colored highlights, holds a picture or a mirror.

With her direct glance, she is an unusually bold female type for Benedetto Luti. The present pastel and that of the boy in a blue jacket form a contrasting pair that must always have been together.

Each is dated 1717 and inscribed in a style that is characteristic of Luti on the original backing. Similar works may be found at Holkham Hall, Norfolk; in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence; and in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. The pastels have always been admired by connoisseurs. | © The Metropolitan Museum of Art