Drawing in charcoal, pencils, and light touches of white lead on oval paper measuring 29.5 x 25.5 cm, which is glued onto a rectangular paper measuring 39.5 x 29.5 cm; all mounted on a thin softwood frame.
On the back of the rectangular sheet is the following inscription in pen, written to follow the shape of the oval:
"Quarenghi Giuseppe, 15 years old: d(rawn) from life by Bernardino Carrara 1824"
The little portrait was created at the drawing school of the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, which both the author and the model attended as students of Giuseppe Diotti.
Both are mentioned in the historical records of the Accademia Carrara:
- the author of the drawing, Bernardino Carrara "son of Giacomo" was born in Albino in 1804 and was therefore 20 years old at the time; the diligence of the stroke, almost like an engraver, reveals that he had completed the long drawing practice that Diotti's students had to complete before moving on to color;
- the portrayed Quarenghi Giuseppe Maria "son of Camillo" was only 15 years old, having been born in Caprino Bergamasco in 1809.
Neither of them will have an important career in Bergamo's art scene, but this does not diminish the flavor of the era and of Diotti's teaching that emanates from this work, typical of his school.
