Workshop Of Giorgio Vasari (arezzo 1511 – Florence 1574) - The Virgin And Child

Studio of Giorgio Vasari (Arezzo 1511 – Florence 1574)
The Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist

Pen and brown ink, brown wash over black chalk
Diameter: 16.5 cm

Provenance

• Francesco Bartolozzi collection (?)

• Juan Jorge Peoli (New York 1825 – 1893 Madrid), New York (Lugt L.2020)

• Rifkin Young Fine Arts, New York

• The Estate of Marc and Lillian Raeff, Tenafly, N.J.

• Private collection

Note
This elegant 16th-century tondo, executed in pen and brown ink with brown wash, subtly reinterprets a composition by Parmigianino preserved in the Willumsens Museum, Frederikssund (inv. G. S. 531). The drawing faithfully echoes the arrangement, tenderness, and refined network of curving lines that structure the original scene. Its circular format further enhances the harmony and softness of the composition.

The subject of the Christ Child caressing a lamb — symbol of the Passion foretold by Saint John — was a recurring theme in Renaissance iconography. Parmigianino treated it on several occasions, following in the footsteps of Leonardo and Raphael.

Strong stylistic affinities with several drawings by Giorgio Vasari after Parmigianino, now preserved in the Louvre — particularly in the rendering of curly hair and flowing contours — suggest that the present sheet was produced in Vasari’s studio. The influence of Parmigianino, whom Vasari deeply admired, is evident throughout.

The verso bears the inscription “Bartolozzi 1768” — likely apocryphal — and the collector’s mark of Juan Jorge Peoli (Lugt 2020), attesting to an early and well-documented provenance.

A full scholarly report (PDF, 8 pages) is available upon request.