Deacon Saint (Stephen or Lawrence)

Probably dating to the 1640-50s, this spirited, relatively finished study in red and very dense black chalk depicts the figure of a martyred deacon saint, who is either Saint Stephen or Saint Lawrence. It was probably intended for a devotional picture in half-length. The Florentine Confortini is one of the great virtuoso draftsmen of the two-chalk technique (red and black), which was frequently used by Florentine artists during the Baroque period.


As with this example, Confortini's drawings exhibit a dazzling quality of movement, with nervous outlines and a staccato technique of hatching. The Metropolitan Museum of Art owns another boldly drawn figural sketch of a deacon saint by Confortini (Figure of a Cleric in Half-Length) with very similar scale and composition as the present sheet. Since certain important details of dress are identical, both drawings likely served as studies for the same painting, and together they represent the range of Confortini's draftsmanship and design process.

(C.C.B.)