Paolo Farinati (Verona 1524-1606)

Drawn in preparation for the earliest and most famous of Farinati's paintings of the subject, now in the Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona, which is signed and dated 1562 (Verona, 2005-06, op. cit., no. 187). This close relationship with a dated work makes the drawing an important starting point from which to build a chronology of Farinati's draughtsmanship. The differences between the drawing and the painting, most notable in the arrangement of Pilate's throne, the depth of the crowd, and the addition of a figure to the right and of a distant range of buildings, also give important clues as to the artist's working practice. This large and highly finished drawing may have been a presentation work designed to elicit the patron's approval, but in any event even after this point Farinati continues to play with the composition as he prepares his canvas, a constantly searching approach also taken by contemporary artists such as Barocci.
The composition shows the strong influence of Veronese, perhaps most notably that artist's organ shutters painted for the Church of San Sebastiano, Venice, which date from about the same time (T. Pignatti and F. Pedrocco, Veronese, Florence, 1991, no. 48).