Sketches of Virgin and Child

About the Artwork

This sheet of sketches was drawn from imagination in preparation for a painting. Here, the artist explored five different ways to capture the motion of a restless child enfolded in its mother’s embrace. Blue-gray papers like this were made from indigo-dyed rags and typically used for drawings by 16th-century Venetian artists such as Giulio Campi to study the painterly effects of light and shade.

Inscriptions

Parmigiano; Parmigeano; L.74 g; A3543; 13; F. C. 2489

Provenance

Jonathan Richardson, Sr., London (Lugt 2183, lower right, in black ink; Lugt 2983-2984 or possibly John Barnard mount and inscription?, verso of old mount (now removed), upper center, written in ink: L. 74. / G.) . [FritzRoy Carrington]

Exhibition history

Drawings from the Collection of Sir Robert Witt, London. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 30-October 30, 1938). Drawings by Old Italian Masters. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 5, 1940-February 25, 1941). Drawings from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 17-August 24, 1942). Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 11-September 10, 1963). Old Master Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 10-31, 1964). The Draftsman's Eye: Late Italian Renaissance Schools and Styles. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 6-April 22, 1979). Connoisseurship in Italian Figural Compositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 1980-February 15, 1981). Italian Drawings from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 16, 1986-March 1, 1987). Conserving the Past for the Future. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-May 6, 2001). Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).

Quick Overview

Artist: Giulio Campi (Italian, c. 1500–1572)
Date: 1550–1600
Medium: black chalk; framing lines in traces of gold ink
Dimensions: Sheet: 20.3 x 13.4 cm (8 x 5 1/4 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: Dudley P. Allen Fund
Accession no.: 1924.1002

More by Giulio Campi in museum collections

Study for the Supper at Emmaus
Giulio Campi
1550/59 · Drawing
Public collection via the Art Institute of ChicagoAT-00002114
Project for a Tomb
Giulio Campi
1537/43 · Drawing
Public collection via the Art Institute of ChicagoAT-00003394
Jupiter and Astraea
Giulio Campi
ca. 1545–50 · Drawing
Public collection via the Metropolitan Museum of ArtAT-00021979

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.