Tiepolo’s drawing technique owes much to Guercino, the great master of pen and wash from the previous century. Here he has used a hard black chalk to first mark out the composition before drawing in the figures and other details using a fine quill for perfect precision and fluency. He has applied an ink wash to add tone, achieving the stronger accents by using a drier brush. A true master of this medium, Tiepolo’s ink outlines are often unbroken, as can be seen in this drawing in the contour of Christ’s drapery and the head and tall hat of the background figure. Tiepolo’s skill as a draughtsman was outstanding and by far his favourite medium was pen and ink.