Knight Facing Forwards
1779. White chalk, Red chalk on dark toned paper.Not on display
This is a preparatory drawing for the figure in the centre-left part of the fresco The Transfer of the Remains of Saint Eugene in the cloister of Toledo Cathedral. The figure is dressed in 16th-century fashion, with his left arm supporting a platform carrier. The study of the clothing is very thorough. Three preparatory sketches for the fresco are extant: one in Toledo Cathedral, another in the Ena Collection in Zaragoza and a third in a private collection in Madrid. The Museo del Prado keeps several related drawings. In the fresco, this figure marches at the rear of the platform carrier in the foreground and corresponds to the figure of Philip II, King of Spain. The change of composition that the drawing has undergone can be observed: initially, the figure at the head of the platform carrier had been sketched for that of the monarch.
Arnáez, Rocío, Catálogo de Dibujos II. Dibujos españoles siglo XVIII. A-B, Madrid, 1975, p.65
