Attributed to Giovanni Balducci

Balducci was trained under Giovanni Battista Naldini in his native Florence, and worked with him in both Florence and Rome, notably under the patronage of Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici. Under the supervision of Vasari he worked with Federico Zuccaro on the frescoes of the Last Judgement in the dome of Florence Cathedral. His style combined the late Mannerism of his master with the simpler devotional qualities introduced into Florentine art by Santi di Tito and Alessandro Allori at the end of the 16th century. His later career was spent largely in Naples. The poses of the Madonna and Child in this copper are closely paralleled in a drawing of the Adoration of the Shepherds by Balducci sold London, Christie's, 10 July 2001, lot 44. An altarpiece of the same subject by him, dating from 1592, is also recorded in the church of San Francesco, Volterra.