Study for Marphisa

This piece is one of several preliminary sketches for the painting Marphisa and Pinabello's Lady, which depicts an episode from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. While the maiden warrior Marphisa and the crone Gabrina are travelling together, they encounter the knight Pinabello and his lady, who mock the old woman and her clothing. In response Marphisa challenges and defeats Pinabello, and then forces the haughty lady to disrobe and give her finery to Gabrina. This sketch reduces the episode to the contrast between the victorious maiden and the humbled lady. The fully-armored Marphisa dominates the central axis of the composition, her arm raised in a powerful gesture, while the lady crouches before her, her exposed flesh indicated by bare paper. This sketch is quite different in composition from the final painting, and may therefore represent an early stage in the creative process.