Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli, Virgin and Child
Parma, mid-16th century
red chalk, pen and brown ink on paper
Artists often made preparatory studies of the Virgin and Child using their own family members as models. This fluent red-chalk drawing shows the Virgin as a young mother seated on the ground in a voluminous dress, with a fidgety toddler perched precariously on her knee. Born in Parma, the artist was a near contemporary of the more famous painter Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino.
Cambridge, The Fitzwilliam Museum
Given by Augustus Arthur Vansittart, 1862
