LONDON.- An exquisite study of three female nudes by the 16th century Italian Renaissance master, Parmigianino, newly discovered among an album of drawings assembled in the 19th century, is to be offered at Bonhams Old Master Paintings Sale on Wednesday 5 July. It is estimated at £15,000-20,000.

The sketches relate to Parmigianino's depiction of the Wise and Foolish Virgins on the vault of the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata in his home town of Parma. The artist sought to create an illusion that the figures were lit naturally by daylight entering the church. The Three Foolish Virgins appear as if lit from the left, and the Three Wise Virgins as from the right.

In 1531, Parmigianino was commissioned to paint a section of the interior of Santa Maria della Steccata for 400 scudi, but made such slow progress that in 1535, the commissioning body asked for its money back. Intervention by two of his patrons twice secured Parmigianino more time, but by 1539, with the work still unfinished, the church authorities lost patience and had him sent briefly to prison for breach of contract. Parmigianino was banned from resuming work on the frescos and died shortly afterwards in 1540, aged 37.

Despite his short career, Parmigianino is regarded as one of the most original artists of the Italian Renaissance. He was extraordinarily versatile, producing paintings, frescoes, great numbers of drawings (some of which were made into prints) and, towards the end of this life, etchings from his own drawings. Writing about the sketch of the three nudes in the latest edition of Bonhams Magazine, Parmigianino expert David Ekserdjian, commented, “What is truly unique is his touch both with red chalk and white heightening, which magically combines absolute assurance and dreamy delicacy.”

The provenance of the work can be traced with certainty to the late 18th century, and intriguingly may have originally been in the collection of Francesco Baiardo (1486-1561) who owned many works by Parmigianino, and would have bought the sketch direct from the artist. It was acquired in the 1940s by the present owner’s family as part of an album of drawings put together in the 19th century, and has only recently been rediscovered.