The Swooning Virgin Supported by Three Holy Women and Three Studies of Men (recto); Saint George and the Dragon (verso) (Main View)

Cesare da Sesto's sensitive line and refined shading create a delicate, elegant effect in which his figures seem to be laid ever so gently onto the page. He made his initial sketch in red chalk, going over the final design in pen and ink, adding contours and shading.

Known for his lifelong synthesis of Raphael's and Leonardo da Vinci's art, Cesare followed their examples here. The lively gestures and poses of the male figures-especially the one at right-reflect Leonardo's influence, while the Saint George and the Dragon on the verso resembles Raphael's painting of the subject now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

This sheet once may have been part of a sketchbook, now-dismembered in the Pierpont Morgan Library. The Morgan sketchbook pages are the same size as this sheet, and they show similar figures and groups inspired by Leonardo and Raphael, drawn with the same graceful style.