Executioner
1777. White chalk, Red chalk, Squared-up on dark toned paper.Not on display
This is a preparatory drawing for the corresponding figure in the fresco Martyrdom of Saint Eugene in the cloister of Toledo Cathedral. Two preparatory sketches for the fresco are extant: one in Toledo Cathedral and the other in the Royo Sinués Collection in Zaragoza (the latter is reproduced in the Catalogue of the Bayeu Exhibition in Zaragoza in 1964). This is a study of a standing male figure, in which his naked extremities rather than his clothing are depicted in detail. The Executioner holds a knife in his right hand. His left hand rests on the saint’s head, of which only the silhouette can be perceived. The figure of Saint Eugene (D000444) and the study for the head of this saint (D000477) belong to the same series and fit with this drawing.
Arnáez, Rocío, Catálogo de Dibujos II. Dibujos españoles siglo XVIII. A-B, Madrid, 1975, p.61
