The Death of Joseph.

Drawing, pen and brown ink over black chalk, 30 x 20 cm, laid paper, unsigned (laid down on paper mount, brown stains at upper side, sm. stains at lower left).

Under 19th-c. passe-partout and gilt frame.

This study sheet depicts the death of Joseph in the presence of Christ and the Virgin with angels, a story taken from the apocryphal book of the History of Joseph the Carpenter. The composition of this drawings shows an affinity to Carlo Maratti's (1625-1713) "Death of Joseph", painted for the Sta. Maria della Pace in Rome in 1676, and now in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (inv. 534). A set of preparatory drawings now in the collection of the Piermont Morgan Library (inv. 2009.206) also shows variations on the placements of the figures around the death bed of Joseph. Our sheet is mirrored vis-a-vis the painting and adds certain details such as the putto at the foreground. The sheet in chalk and ink has a more finished look than the Morgan sketches. Maratti often worked out preliminary composition ideas after moving on to a more finished workshop drawing in black chalk and pen. The sheet can be compared to "The Virgin and Saint Rosalia Interceding with Christ" in the Metropolitan Museum New York (inv. 61.212.2), which shares the vibrant penwork.