The Holy Family with St. Lucy
Artist
Bernardino Campi
(Italian, 1522 - 1591)
Date16th Century
CultureItalian
Mediumink and gouache on paper
ClassificationDrawings
Credit LineMuseum purchase, 1960
Object numberSN720
This drawing is a study for a painting also in The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Trained in Cremona, the heart of the Lombardy region, Bernardino Campi was a painter whose fame was achieved largely through his altarpieces. In this work, Campi depicts the Holy Family in the company of the fourth-century saint who was martyred by having her eyes gouged for her refusal to marry a non-Christian. Although her sight was miraculously restored, Lucy is often shown with the symbols of her torture. Here she holds a plate with her eyes and a needle.
The precision and detail of the drawing suggests that it served as a contract drawing-one that would have acted as a binding agreement between the painter and patron.
On View
Not on viewFRAMED: 29 3/4 x 24 3/8 in. (75.6 x 61.9 cm)
Object/Study, Cast, or Mold