Studies for the Virgin and Saints in the Nativity (interior of shutter of the organ in Milan Cathedral) 1592-95 Giovanni Ambrogio Figino An artist who excelled at religious compositions, Giovanni Ambrogio Figino was the leading late-sixteenth-century painter in the city of Milan, which was then ruled by the severity and piety of Counter-Reformation theology. Characteristic of Figinos mature drawing style, this sheet of studies on blue paper was a leaf from one of his blue-paper sketchbooks. (The original blue color of the paper has faded to a gentle grayish hue.) The main motif on the sheet represents the kneeling figure of the Virgin, posed in a profile view facing right. The play of the drapery folds over her anatomy is the main concern of the drawing. The designs were studied from a model and are at once very naturalistic and sculptural in their rendering. The sheet also contains scattered motifs of arms, hands, and drapery. These designs are all related to the Virgin, the saints,