Lucretia's Death / Saint Joseph's Dream
XVIII century. Pencil ground, Grey-brown wash, White lead, Pencil on laid paper.Not on display
This work was likely made during the artist’s youth, given the elongated figures and the broken pen strokes that appear identical in some of the drawings for contests in the Academy.
Lucretia is depicted in the centre, leaning towards her left. She is seated on a bed, plunging a dagger through her own chest before four astonished armed warriors, three of whom are to the right of the composition and one of whom is to the left. In the background, architecture and drapery has been sketched out provisionally. On the left there is a luxurious standing table sculpted in human form.
On the verso of the work, there are pencil sketches for Saint Joseph’s dream and some other lighter sketches intended for Lucretia’s figure on the recto.
Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., Catálogo de Dibujos. Vol. III. Dibujos Españoles, Siglo XVIII. C-Z, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 1977, p.74
