Pharoah's Daughter with the Infant Moses and Two Companions (?)

The subject of this drawing is uncertain: whilst the traditional title has described it as Pharoah's daughter, this is not certain. It is possibly an illustration to a biblical parable of Christ as the leaven bread. It was also exhibited in Venice in 1980 with the title 'Tre donne al lavoro e rovine' (Three women working amongst ruins). Bassetti was born in Verona where he was a pupil of Felice Brusasorci. He was in Venice by 1605 where he knew Palma Giovane who influenced his drawing style. Bassetti was also influenced by Tintoretto and Bassano. He was in Rome by 1616 and returned to his native Verona by 1620. Other oil sketches like this one are in the Royal Collection. They may well have been done as works of art in their own right, rather than studies for paintings. Bassetti seems to have considered his drawings to be as important as his paintings, writing to Palma Giovane 'when one draws, one also paints'.