The Visitation
XVII century. Grey-brown wash, Pencil on laid paper.Not on display
In front of an architectural background, the Virgin and Saint Elizabeth hold out their hands towards each other while Zechariah, in the shadow of the door situated on the right, and Saint Joseph, on the left, gaze at them. Saint Joseph holds in his hand a travelling hat: this narrative detail possibly follows the post-Tridentine requirement for a relevant and historically accurate feature in religious images. Nevertheless, in the finished painting The Visitation at Museo Goya in Castres, Saint Joseph’s hat was replaced by a more conventional floral staff. Although Sánchez Cantón and Wethey considered this drawing a copy, a close examination of the technique as well as an analysis of Cano’s paintings and compositional sources closely related to him yield convincing evidence that this is a signature drawing. The pen and ink drawing over the spontaneous and barely perceptible charcoal line is perfectly consistent with the technique of drawings from 1640 to 1660, exemplified in The Annunciation (D3819).
Veliz, Zahira, Alonso Cano (1601-1667): dibujos, Santander, Fundación Marcelino Botín, 2009, p.212-213; nº 21
