Studies of a youth pulling ropes or poles (recto); A faint study of the same (verso)

The attribution to Lomi was first confirmed by Mary Newcome and subsequently published in 1991 (see literature). Lomi's drawings can often be connected with paintings, but a connection with the present drawing has so far not been made. It shows Lomi's habit of repeating the same figure or motif on a single sheet. Two drawings in similar spirit, both studies for The Feast of Ahasuerus in the duomo at Pisa, executed between 1610 and 1617, are in the Louvre and the British Museum respectively (inv. RF 5306 and 1966,0303.I; see M. Di Giampaolo, 'Aurelio Lomi disegnatore', in Disegni genovesi dal Cinquecento al Settecento: Giornate di Studio (9-10 Maggio 1989), Florence, 1992, figs. 7-8; and N. Turner, The Study of Italian Drawings. The Contribution of Philip Pouncey, exhib., cat., London, British Museum, 1994, no. 94).