74. Bartolomeo Biscaino

Genoa 1629 – 1657 Genoa

The Virgin and Child

This is a very fine example of the graphic style of Bartolomeo Biscaino, the Genoese painter and printmaker. In his elegant drawings, Biscaino always pays close attention to the light. Over the red chalk, he was in the habit of highlighting the forms and contrasts with white bodycolour, whose brilliance stands out against the brown paper. Here, the addition of white also allows him to confirm the position of the child’s head, which was initially turned towards his mother.