This drawing is a late compositional study for the fresco The Apparition of the Angel to St. Joseph painted around 1576 on the vault of the Orsini (later Ghislieri) Chapel in the church of San Silvestro al Quirinale in Rome. Raffaellino is said to have arrived in Rome during the pontificate of Gregory XIII (r. 1572–85) and spent the rest of his brief career there. Inspired by Taddeo Zuccaro, Raffaellino developed a virtuoso drawing style characterized by an elegant calligraphic line and generous, dark brown washes. He also contributed to the frescoes of the Villa Farnese at Caprarola.
Raffaellino da Reggio (1550–1578), The Apparition of the Angel to St. Joseph, ca. 1576
, Pen and brown ink and brown wash, over red chalk , Purchased in honor of Charles E. Pierce, Jr. by the Visiting Committee to the Department of Drawings & Prints through the generosity of Ildiko Butler, Diane A. Nixon, Andrea Woodner, Hamilton Robinson, Jr., Joan Taub Ades, Clement C. Moore II, Jayne Wrigh, 2007.8