The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 22, 2024

Sketch for "The Four Prophets of Israel" (for Il Gesù, Rome)

Sketch for "The Four Prophets of Israel" (for Il Gesù, Rome)

c. 1675–1677
(Italian, 1639–1709)
Framed: 81.3 x 68 x 9 cm (32 x 26 3/4 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 67.3 x 55 cm (26 1/2 x 21 5/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

This small painting represents the four prophets of Israel: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. It is one of seven oil sketches made in preparation for the decoration of the four pendentives in the Jesuit Church of the Gesù in Rome. The artist, one of the most prominent large-scale decorative painters in Rome, is known for his grand painting of the vault of the Gesù. Gaulli followed the Italian decorative tradition by preparing this sketch, called a bozzetto, to work out his ideas before the final fresco was painted. Fresco painting was the most desirable media for public and private locations, created by mixing dry pigment into wet plaster. They are an ideal permanent decoration; however, the process is tedious and thorough preparation is essential to ensure high quality. Oil sketches would aid the artist in creating a final composition and choosing their palette and would be particularly helpful for awkward spacings such as the pendentive, an inverted triangle. In this scene, Gaulli changed his initial composition for the final presco, balanceing the four prophets and young putti, with the young Daniel as the most prominent figure motioning towards the dome.
  • Reuschel, Wilhelm. Die Sammlung Wilhelm Reuschel; ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Barockmalerei. München, Germany: Bruckmann, 1963. Mentioned: p. 42-44; Reproduced: p. 43
    Enggass, Robert. The Painting of Baciccio: Giovanni Battista Gaulli, 1639-1709. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1964. Reproduced: p. 160
    Held, Julius S. Paintings of the European and American Schools. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Museo de Arte, 1965. Reproduced: p. 71
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Reproduced: p. 344; Mentioned: p. 345
    Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1969." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art LVII, no. 1 (January, 1970):3-50. Reproduced: p. 17, no. 144; Mentioned: p. 48
    Lurie, Ann Tzeutschler. "A Bozzetto for the Four Prophets by Gaullli." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art LVIII, no.4 (April, 1971):98-106. Reproduced: cover, p. 99, fig 2 and 10
    Lurie, Ann T. "A Short Note on Baciccio's Pendentives in the Gesù à Propos a New Bozzetto in Cleveland." The Burlington Magazine114, no. 828 (1972): 170-173. Mentioned: P. 170-173 www.jstor.org
    Five College Roman Baroque Festival, Easter Weekend, April 11-14, 1974. United States: publisher not identified, 1974. Reproduced: p. 6, no. 9
    Johnson, Mark M. Idea to Image: Preparatory Studies from the Renaissance to Impressionism. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1980. Reproduced: no. 83
    Ferrari, Oreste. Bozzetti italiani dal manierismo al barocco. Napoli, Italy: Electa, 1990. Mentioned: p. 137; Reproduced: p. 140
    Johns, Christopher M. S. "Upon the Roof of Heaven: Goivanni Battista Gaulli's Dome, Pendentive and Vault Frescoes at the Gesù." In The Holy Name: Art of the Gesù: Bernini and His Age. Linda Wolk-Simon, ed. Philadelphia: Saint Joseph’s University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 278; Reproduced: p. 307, fig. 18 & p. 498, cat. 40
  • The Holy Name: Art of the Gesù: Bernini and his Age. Fairfield University Art Museum, Fairfield, CT (organizer) (February 1-May 20, 2018).
    Idea to Image: Preparatory Studies from the Renaissance to Impressionism. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 19-March 23, 1980).
    Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
    The Holy Name: Art of the Gesu: Bernini and his Age. Fairfield University Art Museum, Fairfield, CT (February 2-May 19, 2018).
  • {{cite web|title=Sketch for "The Four Prophets of Israel" (for Il Gesù, Rome)|url=false|author=Giovanni Battista Gaulli|year=c. 1675–1677|access-date=22 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.131