Collection Online as of December 10, 2023
Pyramid of Five Men
Juste de Juste
(French, 1505–1559)
Etching
Support: Antique laid paper
Sheet: 29 x 21.7 cm (11 7/16 x 8 9/16 in.); Platemark: 27.8 x 20.7 cm (10 15/16 x 8 1/8 in.)
Alma Kroeger Fund 2007.167
Catalogue raisonné: Zerner J.5
Location
not on view
Description
Although almost nothing is known about Juste de Juste, he was probably among a circle of artists working at Fontainebleau in France in the 1540s. This eccentric composition seems to reference the twisting, turning, and balancing bodies found on the Sistine Chapel ceiling as well as the muscular nude body types associated with Michelangelo. However, the composition itself is a unique invention not derived from any specific part of the ceiling or indeed from life studies.