Brown ink and wash drawing on blue paper of figures around a canopied bed in a classical interior, with columns and putti in the background.

Study for the Allegory of Birth

A brown ink and wash study on blue paper shows a domestic interior with a canopied bed at right, where a figure appears to recline while attendants and a standing bare-chested man gather nearby. Classical columns, a relief-filled wall, and small putti in the background frame the scene, with figures seated and kneeling at left.

Artist: Giorgio Vasari
Date: n.d.
Medium: Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, heightened with lead white (partially oxidized), on blue laid paper, laid down on tan wove car
Source: Art Institute of Chicago
Size: 1686 × 1139 px

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Public domain · Art Institute of Chicago releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1599).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Art Institute of Chicago, is_public_domain=true)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Art Institute of Chicago, The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection

classical architecture study blue paper figure study putti renaissance drawing italian drawing pen and brown ink canopied bed brush wash vasari