Head of an Infant in Profile to the Right

The subtlety of the reflected light at the chin and throat of the infant make this one of Andrea's most sensitive drawings. It probably prepared the head of the infant John the Baptist in The Holy Family with St. John (Hermitage, St. Petersburg). Andrea reused the design in two other paintings: the Borgherini Holy Family at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Charity at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. This economical use of drawings was typical and underlines the importance of such highly achieved drawings in the workshop.