Born into a family of artists, Jacopo Negretti - also known as Palma il Giovane (“the Younger”) was taught from an early age by his father Antonio and his great-uncle, Palma “the Elder”. His first patron, Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, sent him to Rome, where he studied painting, especially the oeuvre of Michelangelo and works by mannerist painters such as the Zuccaro brothers, between 1568 and 1572. After returning to Venice, where he was hugely influenced by Titian and Tintoretto, he obtained his first public commission when, following the fire in the Palazzo Ducale in 1577, he was tasked with painting several canvases for the ceiling of the Sala del Maggior Consiglio. After the death of Titian and Tintoretto, he became one of Venice’s most prominent painters, and was given commissions in practically all the major artistic undertakings in Venice between 1580 and 1620. 

Palma il Giovane’s oeuvre is large and varied. He produced a great deal of drawings, often connected to paintings. The present drawing can be counted among the artist’s so-called primi pensieri, where he used pen and ink and washes to set up his composition, quickly sketching various figures, filling out the space and suggesting depth and movement. The present charming drawing depicts God the Father seated on a cloud, his left hand raised in blessing. The work was formerly owned by the famous Venetian collector Zaccaria Sagredo (1653 - 1729), who owned many works by Palma.