Studies of Hands (recto); Sketch of a Child's Head (verso)

The talented second-born son of Italian Renaissance painter Paolo Veronese, Carletto Caliari assisted his father in the final years of the celebrated artist’s life. Successful Venetian painting studios were run as workshops, with staffs of trained apprentices working under a master’s supervision to simultaneously execute a multitude of commissions. Drawings such as this study of expressive hand gestures were used as reference materials to ensure stylistic consistency within the shop.