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Study for the Head of St. Michael

1633

Pietro da Cortona

(Italian, 1596-1669)

Italy, 17th century

Black chalk

Support: Beige(1) laid paper, perimeter mounted to cream(3) laid paper

Sheet: 19 x 16.8 cm (7 1/2 x 6 5/8 in.); Secondary Support: 31.9 x 27.6 cm (12 9/16 x 10 7/8 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1996.257

Location

not on view

Description

Pietro da Cortona drew this angelically beautiful face in a style reminiscent of the work of Renaissance master Raphael (1483–1520). Cortona's use of black chalk to develop extremely subtle effects of shading shows the technique at its most refined. He drew this sheet in preparation for a ceiling decoration, Saint Michael and Angels with the Instruments of the Passion, painted in fresco in the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella (better known as the Chiesa Nuova, or "New Church") in Rome, completed in 1633.

Provenance

[Anonymous sale, Christie's, London, 28 March 1979, no. 173a (as Francesco Romanelli in catalogue, attribution changed to Pietro da Cortona by date of sale)]; Duke Roberto Ferretti, Montreal; [his sale, Christie's, London, 2 July 1996, no. 47].

Citations

Cleveland Museum of Art, Diane DeGrazia, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 2000. Mentioned and Reproduced: Cat. no. 16, pp. 52-52; p. 285

Exhibition history

Italian Drawings from the Collection of Duke Roberto Ferretti. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (October 26, 1985 - January 5, 1986); Pierpont Morgan Library, New York (February 14 - April 20, 1986).

Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Study for the Head of St. Michael|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1996.257|author=Pietro da Cortona|year=1633|access-date=24 July 2019|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Study for the Head of St. Michael

Study for the Head of St. Michael

Pietro da Cortona

Italy, 17th century

Location

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Description

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