Now showing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until April 18, 2010 is the first ever show dedicated solely to Agnolo Bronzino, the Italian Mannerist. With almost sixty drawings from the artist, , some never before seen, the exhibition helps to shed light on an artist whose name is familiar to many, but whose depictions of the form may still be unfamiliar to viewers.

The show is put together with the help of the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi and the Polo Museale Fiorentino, Florence and encompasses a refreshing take on the figure.  Although the drawings are done largely from a scholastic standpoint, making excellent reference of the figures musculature and positioning, the works read as soft, delicate and emotional. Bronzino’s take on the figure is not only refreshing, but raises the question of how a figurative artist of his caliber escaped the public eye for so long.

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Seated Nude Youth Playing Panpipes, red chalk, 1530-32

Seated Male Nude Youth, black chalk on gray-blue prepared paper, 1540-41

Last night, February 3rd, was the opening night for the newly relocated DFN Gallery. After having previously been located in Soho, and in Chelsea, DFN now takes residence on the Upper East Side, where its modern works refresh the local art scene.

The energy filled opening, titled Looks Good on Paper offers a broad range of works from over forty different artists. Being works on paper, the general scale of the pieces were mostly on the smaller side, but the consistent media did not limit variety at the show. Many of the pieces carried themes of beautiful imagery, inspiration seeming to come from a blend of everyday life as well as the fantastical. Some of the artists featured include Vincent Desiderio, Steve Shaheen, and Joan Semmel.

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Jordan Wolfson, Reclining Nude III, 2010, ink and acrylic on paper.

Joan Semmel, Pencil Study from 'Centered,' 2003, pencil on paper.

DFN Galley
74 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10075