North Italian School, 16th Century

Brno/Feldmann inventory number 3246

We have not been able to shed much light on the artist of this very elaborate and fine drawing, highly finished and detailed. It appears to be the work of an artist active in the North of Italy, possibly in Lombardy, and who seems to have knowledge of masters of the Veneto, such as Lorenzo Lotto. Futhermore, the specific shape of the coat-of-arms to the right of the small portrait is distinctively Italian. The date of 1535 which appears in a cartiglio on the rock, where St. Christopher is resting his hand, could refer to a date in the life of the man in armour who is portrayed in another shield, also sculpted on the rock. The drawing is certainly 16th century but not necessarily of the first half, althought it is difficult to give a certain answer regarding the dating.