The Baptism of Christ with Saints Bernardino of Siena and Francis
1552 - 1554
This drawing is a preliminary study for the main scene in Franco?s Baptism of Christ in the Barbaro chapel in San Francesco della Vigna, Venice. Executed with a fine pen and delicate washes, the high degree of finish of this drawing suggests that he produced it during the later stages of the planning of the altarpiece. However, all of the figures underwent alterations between this sheet and the finished painting. The presence of the two Franciscan Saints (whose presence at the Baptism would have been chronologically impossible) was undoubtedly done at the request of the patron Daniele Barbaro, whose family chapel was within a Franciscan church.
