Study for Four Hands
1784 - 1788. White chalk, Black chalk on green paper.Not on display
This is a preparatory drawing of a study of four hands for two figures of saints in the lower-left corner of The Sacred Heart Altarpiece in the Parish Church of Pedrola in Zaragoza. A preparatory sketch is kept in the Duchess of Villahermosa Collection. The Museo del Prado has several related preparatory drawings and an engraving of the altarpiece by Manuel Salvador Carmona (G002727). The drawing is a study of the positions of four hands: on the left, two raised, and on the right, the other two interlaced. The two raised hands are intended for the figure of the saint kneeling in the foreground in the lower left-hand corner (D003270), and the two interlaced hands for the figure of Saint Bernard (D000396), behind him in the midground of the lower-left part of the altarpiece.
Arnáez, Rocío, Catálogo de Dibujos. II. Dibujos españoles siglo XVIII. A-B, Madrid, 1975, p.91
