![](https://www.themorgan.org/sites/default/files/styles/collection_image/public/images/collection/218654v_0001_0.jpg?itok=nkHoqlVO)
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, called Parmigianino
(Italian, 1503–1540)
Girl Seated on the Ground Near a Chair, ca. 1524
Pen and brown ink, brown wash
Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909
Mariette and his contemporaries believed that a work of art needed to be easily apprehended in order to be correctly analyzed and understood. Damages and lacunae were considered obstacles to the viewer’s ability to observe and learn. It was therefore important to enhance the legibility of some sheets. This drawing by Parmigianino was only a fragment, but Mariette extended it at top and bottom. He completed the chair and the girl’s gown but also added the detail of the window.