Polidoro Caldara, called Polidoro da Caravaggio (1400-1643)

Polidoro CALDARA, known as POLIDORO da CARAVAGGIO
Caravaggio, 1499 - Messina, 1543
The Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist
Pen and brown ink - 5.5 x 6 cm - 19 x 19 cm with the frame

Attribution confirmed by Professor Pierluigi Leone De Castris (Polidoro da Caravaggio – L’opera Completa, Naples 2001).

This unpublished drawing offers an astonishing depiction of the Virgin and Child with the little Saint John the Baptist. Their figures, executed with a sure and vigorous pen, are highly stylised, with elongated proportions and unsettling, almost grotesque features. This unusual manner, imbued with a stravaganza - a spirited blend of eccentricity and invention - is characteristic of Polidoro’s style, soon distinguishing him from his master Raphael (1483-1520) and leading him towards a highly expressive form of Mannerism akin to that of Rosso Fiorentino (1495-1540).

Full description available on demand