Two Fragments with Faint Chalk Studies
Abraded paper fragments bearing worn red and dark chalk drapery or limb studies
Two small, heavily abraded fragments of paper are mounted side by side, each carrying the faded remains of a chalk study. The left fragment shows soft red-chalk strokes suggesting folds of drapery or a limb, with a dark rounded stain near its centre; the right fragment carries darker, more broken chalk marks that read as cloth folds or a fragment of a figure. Both fragments are worn and torn at the edges, and each bears the Biblioteca Ambrosiana collector's stamp. The imagery is too effaced for a confident subject, so only what is visibly drawn is described here.
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Red-chalk study on the left fragment
The left fragment carries pale red-chalk strokes running down its length, reading as folds of drapery or the surface of a limb. A dark rounded mark sits near the lower centre. The surface is badly rubbed, leaving the forms only partly legible.
Dark-chalk study on the right fragment
The right fragment bears darker, broken chalk marks that describe what appear to be folds of cloth or a fragment of a draped figure. The strokes cluster toward the upper part of the fragment and thin out below. The Ambrosiana stamp appears at the lower edge.