A farmstead on a hill

Dr. Chris Fischer, on the basis of a photograph, considers that the present drawing was made in Fra Bartolommeo's studio. Dr Fischer notes that Fra Bartolommeo's innovative landscape style was immensely influential and that many artists working in his large studio were engaged in drawing landscapes in their master's manner. The popularity of these compositions is shown in the number of contemporary Florentine artists who incorporated Fra Bartolommeo's landscape studies in their own works. Although a large group of landscape drawings formerly in the collection of Nicolò Gabburri are known, Dr. Fischer suggests that many more have been lost and that the present drawing may reflect the motif of one of those lost originals. Several hands can be distinguished among the studio drawings, with drawings very similar in handling to the present work being found in collections in Florence and the Netherlands.