A reclining young man seen from the back, with a second study of a reclining male nude

Vigorous red and black chalk drawings like the present one are rare in Mola’s surviving œuvre, compared to composition studies in pen and wash. Stylistically, this sheet can be compared with a few other drawings, executed in a similarly energetic manner, in which the the black chalk is employed to render the overall figure, while red is used to depict the flesh color. One of these is the study of a running man seen from behind in the British Museum (inv. 1946-7-13-89; see Turner, op. cit., p. 120, no. III.117, ill. p. 119). Also close in execution is A man walking holding a stick on his right shoulder in the Albertina (inv. 823; see V. Birke and J. Kertész, The Italian Drawings of the Albertina, Vienna, Cologne and Weimar, 1992, no. 823, ill.).