Figures Before a Pyramid

The painter and draughtsman Francesco Allegrini primarily worked in Gubbio and Rome. In Rome he executed frescoes in the Palazzo Pamphilj, the Palazzo del Sant'Uffizio, and the church of SS. Cosma e Damiano. Allegrini also produced a large body of drawings consisting of hundreds of sheets, many of which are quite small in size. This drawing, one of four by Allegrini acquired from the McCrindle Foundation, is typical of the artist's work on paper. A large figure, clad in voluminous drapery gathered at the waist, appears in the foreground, striding and pointing towards the right. Other figures in the foreground, some clothed and some apparently nude, appear to be either working or engaged in conflict. A stepped pyramid fills the background of the composition.