Female half-figure / Hand study

The drawing Female half-figure, which Pérez Sánchez tentatively attributed to Antonio Palomino, can be attributed with complete certainty to Ruiz de la Iglesia’s catalogue of drawings. The figure is depicted with her head raised, leaning slightly to the right of the picture plane with her hands crossed on her chest. She directs her gaze to the sky with an expression of divine ecstasy. This depiction suggests that it is a study for a representation of the Virgin or a saint. It is worth mentioning the contrast between the highly finished modelling of the head, with its exquisite perfection of line, and the rest of the figure that is barely sketched. The position of the head, the features of the face and the hairstyle (revealing the ears) share similarities with those of the figures of the Virgin and Mary Magdalen in the painting of the Assumption in Seville. More specifically, it coincides with those of the Virgin in the painting of the same theme in the convent of San Esteban in Salamanca. Nevertheless, in this drawing, the Virgin is depicted leaning slightly towards the other side. Like the drawing, this Assumption was attributed to Antonio Palomino until 1980, when the signature of the painter appeared. Therefore, the authorship of the drawing is well-founded.

Zapata Fernández de la Hoz, Teresa, Francisco Ignacio Ruiz de la Iglesia (1649-1703) en el Museo del Prado: revisión y nuevas atribuciones. Boletín del Museo del Prado, Museo del Prado, 2013, p.82-95 [88 f.10]