Figino likely travelled to Rome from his native Milan in 1587, when he was already nearly 40 years old and at the height of his ability. He remained for at least a year, studying the Sistine frescoes in situ, as well as absorbing the paintings of Raphael and his peers, and the antique sculptures in the Vatican Belvedere. Undoubtedly the focus of his stay was to explore, in the works of his artistic forebears, new and sophisticated means of rendering the human figure. Two surviving albums bear witness to this studious activity. The first, which originates from the collection of Consul Joseph Smith, is in the Royal Collection, and comprises some 118 sheets. Of these, perhaps a dozen are worked up to almost the same degree of finish that we see in the present drawing and are also on blue paper. The second album, from the collection of Giuseppe Bossi, is now in the Gallerie dell'Accademia and contains approximately 200 sheets