The martyrdom of a female saint

Rapidly sketched, this lively composition closely relates to a sheet in the Louvre, featuring four figures similarly dressed in a Roman attire, associated with the decoration of the Palazzo del Giardino in Parma (inv. 6524; D. DeGrazia, Bertoia, Mirola and the Farnese Court, Bologna, 1991, no. D69, ill.). The tragic subject matter of the present sheet does not belong to the joyful cycle of the Giardino, however, its style indicates a similar dating to the mid 1560s, when Bertoia was still much influenced by Parmigianino and his master Lorenzo Sabatini.