Abraham Bloemaert; Studies of Running Figures; 1590-1650; pen and brown ink and brown wash over black chalk on brown laid paper; 4 5/8 in. x 6 3/8 in. (11.7 cm. x 16.19 cm.); Abraham Bloemaert; the co-founder of Utrecht's Guild of Saint Luke in 1611; helped to make this Dutch city a center of Northern Mannerism. Drawing the human figure was central to this endeavor; and the publication of a popular drawing manual for artists further established his legacy beyond the circle of his students. This quick study of movement is stylistically related to sketches in public collections in Darmstadt; Munich; and Berlin. Thematically; this work shows similarities to a more finished drawing by Bloemaert in the Hermitage; Saint Petersburg; that illustrates the Death of the Niobids; the slaying of the many children of Niobe; who had boasted that her offspring outnumbered those of the goddess Leto. Apollo and Artemis; Leto's children; took deadly revenge on the whole family. While none of the figures in the Russian drawing directly coincide with those on this sheet; their panic-stricken movements and fluttering draperies are almost identical.