The Holy Family seated in an interior
XVI century. Wash, Pencil, Grey-brown ink, Pencil ground on laid paper.Not on display
On the verso are extensive notes about the Flemish sculptor Pietro Francavilla (ca.1548-1616). Francavilla received his early training in Paris and Innsbruck. Archduke Ferdinand of Austria provided him with a letter of introduction to Giambologna, and he transferred to Florence in c. 1570, becoming the latter´s partner. He remained in Florence for much of his career, travelling at times to other centers, including Genoa. In the later 1570s and 1580s, he helped Giambologna on commissions for the Grimaldi and Senarega families of Genoa. It would have been at this time that he may have become acquainted with members of Camniaso´s studio.
Turner, Nicholas, From Michelangelo to Annibale Carracci. A century of Italian drawings from the Prado, Chicago, Art Services International, 2008, p.229
