The commission for the decoration of the cupola was originally entrusted to the Milanese artist Pierfrancesco Mazzuchelli, called il Morazzone (1573-1626), but he died suddenly in 1626, having completed just two of the large figures of prophets. Guercino took over the project, and by the end of the same year he had painted the remaining six prophets. The following year, Guercino executed the decoration of the eight arched lunettes, and underneath them, in the drum of the cupola, a continuous frieze of putti.
This sheet, though solely focusing on the position of the Christ Child, appears to come just after the highly finished sheet, depicting Saint Simeon. In the present drawing, the Christ Child is in the same position as in the final painting, with his right arm falling down, while the body of Saint Simeon is just broadly sketched. Guercino continuously searched for different solutions, making endless alterations and revisions, even at the final stage of a composition, as this drawing demonstrates. Given the importance of this early commission it is not surprising that Guercino made a large number of preparatory studies, some of which have survived. The artist’s first step in the preparation of The Presentation in the Temple, as for the other scenes, seems to have been to make rapid sketches in pen and ink for the whole composition. These preliminary studies, ‘primi pensieri’, were followed by pen or chalk studies for individual figures. Guercino focused on, and drew, every detail, often preferring to use red chalk.
A preparatory drawing such as this gives an insight into Guercino's sequence of studies as he worked up to the final composition. The red chalk medium is still strong and vibrant, which overall contributes to a powerful image. The NGI currently houses two red chalk drawings by Guercino, including a depiction of The Virgin and Child (for the Madonna del Carmine Presenting a Scapular to a Carmelite, in Cento's Pinacoteca Civica, c.1615), (NGI.2603).