Study of Two Figures in Adoration. Possibly St Joseph and the Virgin Mary, or Sts Joachim and Anna
perhaps 1750s
These vibrant figure studies are entirely typical of Carlone's oil sketches (bozzetti), although more often than not he chose canvas rather than paper as a support for such works. An oil sketch of this kind was probably made in preparation for part of a more fully realised painted or frescoed composition, but the present sketch has not been connected with a finished work by Carlone. As a consequence, the identity of the figures represented, who have no distinguishing attributes, is uncertain.
