ROBERTO OSTI
Michelangelo: Male Back With a Flag
Demos from my Drawing with… Michelangelo! Session
This beautiful study by Michelangelo, portrays the back of a “sbandieratore”, loosely translatable as “flagger”, if it’s even a word, or, maybe, flagbearer.
The sbandieratori were an important mean of communication during battle, signaling strategies and movements to the troops on the battlefield by means of flags that were also thrown up high in the air so that they could be seen at a distance.
These young men were fit and with sculpted musculature, and that’s probably why Michelangelo used one of these soldiers as a model, creating a beautiful drawing that shows a deep knowledge of anatomy, great sense of volume, and impeccable technique.
Male Back With a Flag is a drawing on paper, 19.6 x 27 cm and is a part of the collection of the Albertina, Vienna.
Male Back With a Flag is a preliminary study for the monumental wall painting The Battle of Cascina, which Michelangelo planned to paint next to Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari in the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence. Both paintings were never completed and are only known through preparatory drawings and copies.
Click the link below to buy the Video Recording of the Session Drawing with… Michelangelo!
Drawing with… Michelangelo!
Tuesday
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6:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
$40.00
Figure Drawing
Masterclass: 6 Masters
6 Techniques #309
ONLINE COURSE
Monday
10/13/2025 – 11/17/2025
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
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Watercolor Boot Camp:
a Foundation and
Sampler Course #308
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Friday
09/05/2025 – 10/10/2025
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
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Watercolor:
Quick Ink Sketches
#307
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Wednesday
08/06/2025 – 08/20/2025
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST
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