This drawing is a largely faithful copy of Titian’s St John the Baptist, which he painted for the high altar of Santa Maria Maggiore in Venice, and is now in the Galleria dell’Accademia there. The sheet dates from the last decade of Strozzi’s career when he was working in Venice. He had fled there from his native Genoa and hoped to enjoy success in a new city. Here, Strozzi has transformed Titian’s elegant and statuesque Baptist into a rougher stockier figure, more consistent with his personal style.