The present drawing is a study for the figure of the blessed Paolo Burali kneeling in adoration in front of a Madonna and Child by Guido Reni, an oval picture inserted in Gandolfi's large altarpiece. Gandolfi was awarded the commission by the Church of Santo Bartolommeo, Bologna, to celebrate the beatification of Scipione Burali in 1772, known under his theatine name of Paolo Burali. An oil sketch for the head is in a private collection, and a compositional drawing of the altarpiece is in the Palazzo Rosso, Genova. Two red and black chalk studies are in private collections, P. Bagni, I Gandolfi, Milan, 1992, respectively nos. 129, 132, 133-4, all illustrated.