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| Isaac Oliver Moses striking the rock ca. 1600 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
"Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also."
– from the book of Numbers, chapter 20, in the Authorized or King James version of the Bible (1611)
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| attributed to Agostino Ciampelli Young woman seated on the ground ca. 1600 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
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| Leendert van der Cooghen St Bavo 1662 drawing Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| follower of Daniele Crespi St Sebastian attended by holy women 1622 drawing Prado, Madrid |
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| Abraham Bloemaert Adoration of the Magi 1624 drawing Centraal Museum, Utrecht |
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| Willem Basse after Titian Virgin and Child with Saints ca. 1628-48 etching British Museum |
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| Carlo Maratti Assumption of the Virgin ca. 1645-55 drawing Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Simone Cantarini Baptism of Christ before 1648 drawing Prado, Madrid |
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| Herman van Swanevelt Winding mountain road with travelers ca. 1650-55 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
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| Giovanni Coli Inspiration of St Mark ca. 1651-81 drawing in blue wash British Museum |
"The subject of the drawing is the Evangelist St. Mark writing his gospel. In front of the figure are his crozier, mitre and cope, symbols of his office as first Archbishop of Alexandria, while his lion appears at his side. That he was previously identified as St. Jerome, who is frequently accompanied by a lion, is understandable, since the lion in the drawing is not winged, as he usually is in other representations of St. Mark. However, the symbols of office rule out such an identification, since St. Jerome was a cardinal and not an archbishop. Moreover, St. Jerome is rarely shown in such intense communication with the Holy Spirit. St. Mark was the patron saint of Venice, and a Venetian subject is not surprising in the oeuvre of Coli, who together with Filippo Gherardi was active in Venice in the years 1662-69."
– Nicholas Turner, from Italian Drawings in the British Museum: Roman Baroque Drawings, ca. 1620-ca. 1700 (British Museum Press, 1999)
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| attributed to Alessandro Algardi Study for liturgical vessel before 1654 drawing Royal Collection, Windsor |
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| Bartolomeo Biscaino Holy Family with St John the Baptist before 1657 drawing Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Salvator Rosa Studies for the Death of Empedocles ca. 1666-73 drawing Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen |
"This drawings is a splendid account of the philosopher Empedocles throwing himself into the crater of the volcano Etna as described in the writings of the poet Diogenes Laërtius. . . . Empedocles hoped that vanishing without a trace from the top of the volcano would make people believe that he had been raised up to join the Olympian gods. He did, however, prove a common mortal when the volcano spat out one of his sandals."
– curator's notes from Statens Museum for Kunst
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| Giacinto Brandi Figures seeking refuge from the Deluge before 1691 drawing British Museum |