Study Of A Kneeling Figure. Enrico Reffo, Atelier.

Study of a Kneeling Figure.
Enrico Reffo, atelier.

Charcoal on lightly toned paper

47 x 32 cm

Late 19th – early 20th century

From the atelier of one of Reffo’s pupils

This large preparatory drawing likely served as a study for a saint or a religious figure, possibly intended for a larger altarpiece or fresco. The figure is depicted kneeling, arms open and gaze turned upwards, in a gesture of invocation or spiritual surrender.

What emerges is an intriguing synthesis: the religious purpose of the drawing is approached with an academic discipline rooted in the classical study of the human form. The result is a beautifully proportioned male body, with a dignified, graceful bearing—neither idealised nor rigid, but carefully observed and strongly constructed.

The artist demonstrates full control of volumes and fabrics, with a mastery of chiaroscuro and an evident sensitivity to the sculptural potential of the drapery. The pose, though dynamic, retains a meditative stillness—typical of the iconographic studies from Reffo’s environment.

This sheet comes from the atelier of one of Enrico Reffo’s pupils. Reffo, a central figure in late 19th-century sacred art in Turin, was known not only for his devotional painting but for his role as a demanding teacher of ecclesiastical art. The paper shows slightly irregular margins and small studio stains, consistent with its use as a working material.

A rare witness to the intellectual and formal discipline behind sacred compositions from one of the most spiritually committed and academically rigorous ateliers in post-unification Italy.