Studie voor een liggend Christuskind

About this artwork

Op ruiten gebracht in zwart krijt, zilverstift, op perkament

Art Historical Context

This delicate preparatory drawing by Lorenzo di Credi captures a tender study of the Christ Child in a reclining pose. Created between the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the small-scale work on parchment reflects the Renaissance practice of making detailed sketches to plan larger compositions, likely for an altarpiece or devotional painting. The title itself reveals its purpose as a working study rather than a finished piece. The technique combines silverpoint for precise, luminous lines with black chalk, all transferred onto a grid of squares. This “squaring” method allowed ar...