Baldassare Franceschini (1611-1689/90) spent most of his painting career near Florence. Nicknamed Il Volterrano after his hometown of Volterra, Franceschini began his training in his father’s sculpture workshop, moving to Florence at age sixteen to study painting with Matteo Rosselli. This red-chalk drawing, now in the Art Gallery of Ontario, is a typical working drawing used to study nuances of pose and expression.
Studies for the Head of the Virgin (recto), c.1680
Baldassare Francheschini
Red chalk with traces of white chalk heightening
Overall: 26.8 x 39.9 cm
Purchased as a gift of the Betty Ann Elliott Fund and the Master Print and Drawing Society of Ontario, 1991
© 2013 Art Gallery of Ontario