1590
Bartolomeo Cesi Italian, 1556-1629
Italy
This work was modeled on a young studio assistant who appears frequently in Cesi's drawings, but it was preparatory for a painting of a much older Saint Benedict in the church of San Procolo, Bologna. The black chalk grid would have facilitated the artist in the transfer and enlarging of his design.
Red chalk, heightened with touches of white chalk, on blue laid paper, squared in black and red chalk