Jesus and Saint John the Baptist as Children
XVII century. Wash, Pencil on laid paper.Not on display
The drawing depicts Jesus seated in profile and holding a reed cross. On a lower level, Saint John is also seated, gazing at him with his hands together. Meanwhile, the lamb is depicted next to him. The attribution to Espinosa, which is documented in the Lefort catalogue and which Sánchez Cantón acknowledged with uncertainty, does not appear sufficiently substantiated. The loose, broken line recalls certain drawings attributed to Ribalta. The drawings firmly attributed to Espinosa – which are preserved in the Museo de Bellas Artes in Valencia – are of a very different technique and nature.
Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., Catálogo de Dibujos. Vol. I. Dibujos españoles siglos XV-XVII, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1972, p.90-91
