MICHELANGELO Buonarroti
(b. 1475, Caprese, d. 1564, Roma)

Madonna and Child with the Infant St John (recto)

c. 1532
Black chalk, 317 x 210 mm
Royal Collection, Windsor

In the recto of the sheet the Madonna and Child with the infant St John is depicted. The group is arranged in the shape of a triangle, thus following a pictorial type that was popular in depictions of the Madonna in Florence in the first decade of the sixteenth century. The drawing was formerly attributed to Sebastiano del Piombo, but this attribution was rejected on stylistic considerations. The intended purpose of the drawing yet has to be identified.

On the verso, a red chalk drawing of a female figure can be seen. It is not by Michelangelo's hand, the author of the drawing yet has to be identified.