Portrait of a Young Man with a Child's Drawing

The uniqueness of the subject, for the presence of the infantile drawing which his author proudly shows to the viewer, makes this small picture an important historical document. The idea derives from Leonardesque models which Caroto had the opportunity to see during his sojourns in Milan, where Leonardo worked for long periods and made a lasting impression. Whether or not the drawing had an allegorical significance is lost on us today; all the same, the image of the child captures the immediacy of a moment. This capacity to convey a fleeting expression that reveals the psyche of a person is a lesson that Caroto learned from Leonardo.