Sebastiano Ricci

Drawings often show the signs of their collecting history, revealing how they were manipulated or modified by earlier owners. Past—and present—collectors have often chosen to mark their sheets with a stamp or numbers. Mariette had his own personal device, visible in the lower left corner of this drawing. His mark consists of a stamp, applied in black ink, with the collector’s Latin initials— P(etrus) I(oannes) M(ariette)—interlaced in a circle. This study also bears, at the lower right, a handwritten number indicating it came from the collection of Pierre Crozat (1665–1740).