Ludovico Gimignani

The interesting and visually pleasing combination of media applied to this large oval sheet is rarely seen in Gimignani's oeuvre; the majority of his surviving drawings are executed in black chalk, with the occasional use of grey wash.

Another similar oval design with the same combination of media, depicting Christ in Glory surrounded by Angels, is housed at the British Museum, London.¹  The drawing has been connected with one of Ludovico's ceiling decorations for the Aquilana Chapel in S. Maria di Montesanto, Rome, decorated circa 1680.  While it has not been possible to connect the present sheet to any surviving decorations, it is plausible, given the oval shape and the illusionistic nature of the figures, that this drawing may also relate to an unrealised fresco project.

1. N. Turner, Italian Drawings in the British Museum, Roman Baroque Drawings, London 1999, vol. I, no. 128 ( https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_T-12-57)