The Virgin Giving the Girdle to Saint Thomas, between Saints Francis and Catherine of Siena

Boscoli employed loose, confident pen strokes and layered washes to model form and atmosphere, using black chalk for initial structure and white gouache to highlight drapery and clouds. The rocky landscape and atmospheric background are rendered with swift, sketchy marks, suggesting a preparatory study rather than a finished work. The warm, earthy tonality and restrained use of white enhance the drawing’s immediacy, reflecting a spontaneous yet controlled approach to composition.

The drawing was likely made during Boscoli’s mature period, following his exposure to Roman antiquities and the works of Polidoro da Caravaggio. It entered the National Gallery of Art’s collection through established acquisition channels, though its earlier provenance remains undocumented. Its preservation on an old mount indicates early recognition of its artistic value, likely within a private or ecclesiastical collection in Tuscany before its modern institutional placement.

Boscoli worked in Florence during a time when religious imagery was shaped by the Council of Trent’s emphasis on clarity and emotional resonance. His engagement with Roman Mannerist aesthetics, particularly in figure composition and drapery, distinguishes his style from more rigid Florentine traditions. This drawing aligns with contemporaneous devotional drawings produced for private meditation, blending narrative precision with expressive spontaneity.

Though not widely known outside specialist circles, Boscoli’s work exemplifies the transitional phase between High Renaissance discipline and Baroque dynamism in Florentine drawing. His use of wash and chalk to suggest movement and light influenced later generations of draftsmen. This piece remains a quiet but significant record of how religious subjects were reimagined through intimate, tactile media during the early 17th century.