Seated Madonna and Child and Various Studies, Jacopo Bertoia, circa 1570-71

Recto: during his brief career, the painter jacopo bertoia worked primarily for the farnese family, executing decorative projects for their palaces in parma and caprarola (outside rome). His virtuoso and lyrical draftsmanship is captured on this double-sided sheet in a flurry of sketches, none of which relate precisely to any of the artist’s known religious or secular commissions. On the recto, the dramatic tonality of the central madonna and child is offset by the calligraphic angels and reclining figures. Date: circa 1570-71. Dimensions: height: 40.6 cm (15.9 in); width: 27.1 cm (10.6 in); frame: height: 61.8 cm (24.3 in); width: 46.5 cm (18.3 in); depth: 4.3 cm (1.6 in). Medium: brush and brown wash, laid paper, pen and brown ink, red chalk. Collection: Princeton University Art Museum. Bertoia (Jacopo Zanguidi), Seated Madonna and Child and Various Studies, ca. 1570-71