The Virgin and Child

In this drawing of a female model holding a child, Ludovico has examined the figures from above to isolate the effect of the active pose on the folds in the costume. It well demonstrates the visual principles of artistic reform based on a return to life drawing advocated by the Carracci family. This sheet is known to have been copied by students in their workshop, so attesting directly to its touchstone nature. It has been linked to an altarpiece painted around 1590.