An engraving of a section of Antonio Allegri da Correggio’s ‘Assumption of the Virgin’ on the cupola (dome) of the Duomo di Parma (Parma Cathedral). It shows the section depicting the Virgin surrounded by putti on clouds, in reverse orientation to the original. ‘P. R.’ refers to Padre Sebastiano Resta (1635-1714), the famed collector of roughly 3,500 drawings in over 30 albums by Italian and northern European artists.
This print and its inscription appears to corroborate with the story that Resta wanted to incorporate his illustrations of Correggio’s thought process into an album (Genevieve Warwick, ‘The Formation and Early Provenance of Padre Sebastiano Resta’s Drawing Collection’, Master Drawings, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Autumn, 1996), pp. 239-278). The artist’s first, second, and third pensieri (thoughts) were to be represented by an ordered group of three drawings for the dome, in addition to a (lost) oil ‘first sketch on a canvas measuring four hands’ that he believed to be preparatory for Correggio’s project. In order to facilitate this attempt, it is said that he had an engraving of the oil sketch made, most likely the present engraving in the National Maritime Museum.

S. Copley.No.30.