Simone Cantarini, called il Pesarese

Mounted in modern mount , drawing only hinged at the top. Trace of a fold at the bottom right corner . A light not very visible water stain at the top edge and right corner. Some surface dirt but overall good condition and chalk very fresh.
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A detailed study for the saint's torso in Cantarini's painting St. John the Baptist in the Desert (fig. 1), formerly in the Zambeccari Collection and now in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna.¹  Raffaella Morselli (loc. cit.) points out the derivation of the composition from Reni's famous painting now in the Dulwich College Picture Gallery, London.  According to Morselli and other scholars, the St. John was started by Cantarini after his Roman sojourn (circa 1642) but completed after his death by one of his closest pupils, Flaminio Torri. In our study the torso is drawn with great accuracy and less freely than is usual for Cantarini, reflecting the strong influence of Reni on his graphic style. The light in the drawing falls similarly to the way it does in the painting, leaving little doubt about the connection between the two works.

1. Andrea Emiliani, et al., Simone Cantarini, detto il Pesarese, exhib. cat., Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale, 1997-8, p. 184, no. I.56 (entry by Raffaella Morselli)