Attributed to Carlo Maratti (Camerano 1625-1713 Rome)

Pope Innocent XII, born Antonio Pignatelli (1615-1700), was known for his strict morals and staunch battle against nepotism in the Church. The sheet resembles closely his portrait on a medal cast in 1695 signed by the Roman goldsmith Giovanni Martino Hamerano (Fig. 1). While Stella Rudolph attributed the present drawing to Carlo Maratti (letter to the owner, dated 20 November 2009), Simonetta Prosperi Valenti Rodinò believes it is the work of an anonymous Roman artist active in the late 18th Century, suggesting for comparison the works of Guido Ubaldo Abbatini and Giovanni Maria Morandi, who both worked in black and red chalk.