Upper Body of a Sitting Man and Study of a Right Arm (recto) by MICHELANGELO Buonarroti

This sheet shows a sitting nude figure, drawn after a living model. It is served as a draft for Sebastiano del Piombo's Pietà, now in the Prado. Sebastiano was commissioned to create that painting in 1533 by Ferrante Gonzaga, a brother of the duke of Mantua. It was intended for the family chapel of Sacra Capilla de El Salvador in Úbeda, Andalusia. Sebastiano probably asked for the help of his friend Michelangelo immediately after receiving the commission.
The verso of the sheet contains sketches which reveal the same style of drawing as the Pietà studies on the recto.