This is a study depicting Saint Joseph taking the Christ Child from the Virgin’s arms. The figures are depicted in half-length and stand out against the foliage of a tree. It was exhibited as having been by Mariano Salvador Maella in the ‘Exhibition of Drawings 1750–1860’ in 1922. However, the style of this drawing is identical to that of The Holy Family (D000581), which is undoubtedly by Francisco Bayeu, a fact that enables the attribution of this drawing to him.

Arnáez, Rocío, Catálogo de Dibujos II. Dibujos españoles siglo XVIII. A-B, Madrid, 1975, p.112