The Virgin Immaculate Appearing to Four Saints 1634 - 1689

This preparatory drawing by Italian Baroque artist Ciro Ferri, titled "The Virgin Immaculate Appearing to Four Saints," depicts a scene of the Virgin Mary appearing to four saints. It is a detailed and carefully rendered sketch, made with black chalk on paper, that was likely a study for a larger, finished painting. The drawing is notable for its careful rendering of the figures and their drapery, as well as for the grid system that Ferri used to help him with perspective and composition. It is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.