Denys Calvaert (Antwerp ca. 1540-1619 Bologna)

Drawn with a fine balance of naturalism and sweetness, this study of a young girl is related to the head of an angel carrying a basket of fruit in Calvaert's Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh (inv. NG 2447; see Strasser, op. cit., p. 128, ill.). Executed in a combination of two chalks that was later adopted by Guido Reni, Calvaert's most prominent pupil, this detailed drawing followed a more general compositional study in the Albertina (inv. 17662). We thank Michele Danieli for confirming the attribution based on a digital photograph.