Martelaarschap van de romeinse officieren Johannes en Paulus
The degree of detail in this drawing indicates that Guercino had a very vivid idea of the beheading of John and Paul. The sheet was probably one of the first – and by far the most lugubrious – of many studies in preparation for an altarpiece, which is now in Toulouse. Guercino ultimately arrived at a more modest and l ess bloody composition for the altarpiece.