Description
This study is the last in the sequence of three composition drawings for The Dream of Saint Joseph. It differs from the other two in the pose of the figure of the Virgin, which, along with the figure of the Christ child, Testa has cut out and attached. Such attention to detail characterizes Testa's rigorous preparatory process, and it contrasts sharply with the freedom with which he etched the plate.
Provenance
Nicolaes Anthoni Flinck (1646-1723) [Lugt 959]. William Cavendish (died 1729), 2nd Duke of Devonshire, from 1723 [Jaffe 1994]; by descent to Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire and the Chatsworth Settlement Trustees [Jaffe 1994]; sold, Christie’s, London, July 3, 1984, "Old Master Drawings from Chatsworth," lot 43. Kate de Rothschild, London, by 1988 [Philadelphia 1988]; sold to the Art Institute, 1998.
Accession Number
149719
Medium
Pen and brown ink, with black chalk and traces of incising, on tan laid paper, laid down on cream wove paper
Dimensions
36.8 × 24.2 cm (14 1/2 × 9 9/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Credit Line
Purchased with funds provided by Dorothy Harza, with the assistance of Kate de Rothschild Agius and Marcus Agius, in memory of Laura Harza
