The Virgin and Child with two putti

This sheet is drawn with particularly energetic and quick pen strokes; with a combination of economically drawn contours, and rapid hatching between the figures to suggest space and shadow, Cambiaso brings this touching scene alive. A date of the early 1550s has been suggested by Jonathan Bober and this date seems to be confirmed by the watermark, which is datable to 1554/1555.

We are grateful to Jonathan Bober for his assistance in cataloguing this drawing and for accepting the attribution to Luca Cambiaso on the basis of a digital photograph.