This small sketch faithfully reproduces the famous masterpiece that Jacopo Tintoretto painted as part of the grand decorative scheme for the Scuola di San Rocco sometime between 1562 and 1566. That canvas was subsequently removed and now hangs in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan. Although the confraternity was dedicated to St. Roch, protector against the plague, various scenes by Tintoretto included obligatory civic homage to St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice. Tintoretto’s original composition is followed in detail but is transformed primarily through the decisive, free and liquid strokes of paint over the dark background, and the use of striking colours such as bright blue, yellow and red in the fabrics, mitigating the tension of the scene and allowing for a measure of sensual experience. Although there is no directly comparable scene by Ricci, the free handling, the use of colour and especially the pointed study of an earlier Venetian model point toward his authorship.