Annibale CARRACHE (Bologna, 1560 - 1609) Study of the hand of Saint Catherine Black pencil and white chalk on beige paper, trace of red chalk in the centre Annotated 'Institution de (?) traité des ordonnances' on verso (Minor restorations, small folds at bottom left and small stains) No frame Study of a hand for a Saint Catherine, black pen and white chalk, by A. Carracci 5.74 x 9.09 in. 14.6 x 23.1 cm Provenance: Rossella Gilli, Milan, circa 1985 ; Collection Rossella Gilli, Paris Our drawing is a preparatory study for the left hand of Saint Catherine in the altar painting Madonna and Child Adored by the Saints in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna (inv. 476), dated 1593 (fig.1). The position is very slightly different, but the same ermine cloak is worn by Saint Catherine. There are several other preparatory drawings for this composition, one in the Louvre for the figure of Saint Catherine (inv.7310), and the other for the head of Saint Catherine and the hands of Saint John, kept at Windsor Castel1. Other technically very similar hand studies are known, including one in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Besançon (D.1482)2. We would like to thank Mrs Catherine Loisel for kindly confirming the authenticity of this drawing, based on a photograph, by e-mail dated 9 February 2025. Mario de Gianpaolo confirmed the authenticity of this drawing in a letter dated March 2005. 1. See Rudolf Wittkover, The drawings of the Carracci in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, London, 1952, no. 278, tav. 48, fig. 29. 2. See Catherine Loisel, Inventaire Générale des dessins italiens Ludovico, Agostino, Annibale Carracci, Paris, Musée du Louvre, 2004, p. 32, fig. 36. Annibale CARRACHE (Bologna, 1560 - 1609) 14.6 x 23.1 cm Our drawing is a preparatory study for the left hand of Saint Catherine in the altar painting Madonna and Child Adored by Saints in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna (inv. 476), dated 1593 (fig.1). The position is very slightly different, but the same ermine cloak is worn by Saint Catherine. There are several other preparatory drawings for this composition, one in the Louvre for the figure of Saint Catherine (inv.7310), and the other for the head of Saint Catherine and the hands of Saint John, kept at Windsor Castel1. Other hand studies, technically very similar, are known, including one in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Besançon (D.1482)2. We would like to thank Catherine Loisel for kindly confirming the authenticity of this drawing, based on a photograph, by email dated 9 February 2025. Mario de Gianpaolo confirmed the authenticity of this drawing in a letter dated March 2005. 1. See Rudolf Wittkover, The drawings of the Carracci in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, London, 1952, no. 278, tav. 48, fig. 29. 2. See Catherine Loisel, Inventaire Générale des dessins italiens Ludovico, Agostino, Annibale Carracci, Paris, Musée du Louvre, 2004, p. 32, fig. 36.