Virginity
1781. White chalk, Black chalk on green paper.Not on display
This is a grided pencil sketch depicting an allegorical female figure seated on a cloud. She appears in left profile with a lute and a unicorn. At her feet, there is an angel with the cincture of chastity.
It is a preparatory drawing for the corresponding figure on a pendentive of the cupola in front of the Chapel of Santiago del Pilar in Zaragoza. It is intended for the Marian devotion Regina Virginum, painted in 1781. In addition to Virginity (D000540), Innocence (D000542), Abstinence (D000538) and Modesty (D000544) for the pendentives of the cupola, the Museo del Prado keeps two other drawings for the cupola Regina Virginum in the Chapel of Santiago: Head of Saint Barbara (D000407) and Female Head (D000482).
The Museo Diocesano in Zaragoza keeps the sketch.
Arnáez, Rocío, Catálogo de Dibujos II. Dibujos españoles siglo XVIII. A-B, Madrid, 1975, p.148-149