A King and Two Bishops in a Cartouche

Sebastián de Herrera Barnuevo was a talented painter, draughtsman, sculptor, and architect in Madrid. Very few of the many shrines, altars, and reliquaries he designed, including the cartouche drawn here, have survived. This drawing dates from early in Herrera Barnuevo's career, when the influence of Alonso Cano - for whom he worked during the 1640s - was still strong, which explains the earlier attribution of the drawing to Cano. (See the annotation at the bottom of the drawing.) The creases, tears, and ink stains on this much-handled sheet indicate it was used in the workshop.