Knight
1779. White chalk, Red chalk on dark toned paper.Not on display
This is a preparatory drawing for the figure in the central part of the fresco of the Transfer of the Remains of Saint Eugene in the cloister of Toledo Cathedral. 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. The figure is depicted dressed according to 16th-century fashion, with his left arm supporting a simple stretcher. The study of the robes is very thorough. In the fresco, this figure marches at the head of the simple stretcher in the foreground. This drawing is presumably intended for the figure of Philip II, King of Spain, as the sketch kept in Toledo Cathedral reveals. In the fresco, however, this initial idea changes: the figure of Philip II is moved to the centre-left side.
Arnáez, Rocío, Catálogo de Dibujos II. Dibujos españoles siglo XVIII. A-B, Madrid, 1975, p.66
