Anonimo. Lombardia, XVII secolo.

Anonymous. Lombardy, 17th century. Allegory of Purity Red chalk measures: mm 140 x 134 Through a bold foreshortening from bottom to top, a bare-breasted woman wrapped in a wide draped dress sits on a swelling cloud. The foreshortening would suggest a study for a ceiling decoration. The woman caresses a dove with her right hand, while in her left, raised towards the sky, she holds a fruit (?), a heart (?). Her gaze is directed upwards and she has ears of wheat intertwined in her hair. It could be an allegory of Purity or Innocence. The white dove is a symbol of purity, as could be the bare breasts - like Innocence in Raphael's fresco in the Hall of Constantine in the Vatican. The sign is very delicate, almost evanescent, yet complex, rich in light effects that accentuate the shaded areas. This way of composing the figures with a complex network of short and light touches refers to the language of the Lombard masters around the second half of the 17th century. In particular, the graphic works of the brothers Carlo Francesco (Milan 1609 - 1662) and Giuseppe Nuvolone (Milan 1619-1703) lend themselves to a comparison with our drawing. We point out as examples two drawings, one kept at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and one at the Museo Poldi Pezzoli. However, we do not seem to recognize the hand of anyone specifically, so we opt to present the drawing as the work of an author orbiting in their workshop. Ivory-colored laid paper with fragment of watermark "stars within shield".