Madonna and Child in Glory with San Gaetano di Thiene

This drawing is a developed study for an altarpiece of the artist’s maturity. Cajetan, a 16th-century Vicentine saint, founded the Theatine Order and established confraternities for the care of the sick and poor. His presence indicates a commission in the Veneto and explains the group of orphans for whom he intercedes. The diagonal composition, subtle color, and types owe to Giambattista Tiepolo, who taught and later collaborated often with Zugno. Distinctive, however, are the focused description, the dense modeling with short strokes, and the gentle attitudes. Signed at the lower right, the drawing was either presented to a patron or sold independently.