William Roscoe mistakenly believed this drawing, which he described in his sale catalogue in September 1816 as, 'sketched with the utmost freedom and effect', was by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, known as il Baciccio (1639 - 1709), probably because he believed that the initials 'd' (or 'c') I B written in ink in the lower left corner of the drawing, made up Baciccio's monogram. Baciccio was known for his spirited and rapidly-sketched preparatory drawings. 

The monogram may in fact be that of an as yet unidentified previous owner or art dealer in the 17th century. Although the drawing is not by Gaulli, it may well be by another late sixteenth-century or seventeenth-century artist from Genoa, Verona or Venice.

The Adoration of the Shepherds | National Museums Liverpool

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William Roscoe mistakenly believed this drawing, which he described in his sale catalogue in September 1816 as, 'sketched with the utmost freedom and effect', was by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, known as il Baciccio (1639 - 1709), probably because he believed that the initials 'd' (or 'c') I B written in ink in the lower left corner of the drawing, made up Baciccio's monogram. Baciccio was known for his spirited and rapidly-sketched preparatory drawings. The monogram may in fact be that of an as yet unidentified previous owner or art dealer in the 17th century. Although the drawing is not by Gaulli, it may well be by another late sixteenth-century or seventeenth-century artist from Genoa, Verona or Venice.

The Adoration of the Shepherds

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