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Source 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, <em>Saint Michael and Angels with the Instruments of the Passion</em>, 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159483
label
Study for the Head of St. Michael
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159483
contentType
drawing
title
Study for the Head of St. Michael
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, <em>Saint Michael and Angels with the Instruments of the Passion</em>, 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.
date
1633
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79979119
creators
1224
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
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.)
cul
Italy, 17th century
accession
1996.257
Source extras
tec
black chalk
tombstone
Study for the Head of St. Michael, 1633. Pietro da Cortona (Italian, 1596–1669). Black chalk; 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.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1996.257
supportMaterials
description
beige(1) laid paper, perimeter mounted to cream(3) laid paper
collection
DR - Italian
didYouKnow
The fresco for which this drawing was made as a preparatory study joins works of art by Peter Paul Rubens as well as relics of the Saint Philip Neri in the Chiesa Nuova in Rome.
citations
citation
Merz, Jörg Martin. <em>Pietro da Cortona: Der Aufstieg zum führenden Maler im barocken Rom</em>. Tübingen: Ernst Wasmuth, 1991.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 234, note 215; Reproduced: n. 366
citation
Russell, Francis. "Salesroom Discovery: A Study by Pietro da Cortona." <em>The Burlington Magazine </em>121, no. 915 (June 1979): 405-406.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 405; Reproduced: p. 406, n. 98
citation
McTavish, David. <em>Italian Drawings from the Collection of Duke Roberto Ferretti</em>. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1985.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 76, under n. 32; Reproduced: p. 77
citation
Merz, Jörg Martin. "I disegni di Pietro da Cortona per gli affreschi nella Chiesa Nuova a Roma." <em>Bollettino d'Arte</em> 86-87 (July-October 1994): 37-76.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 38-39; Reproduced: p. 39, n. 2
citation
Rodrigues, Terence, edited. <em>Christie's Review of the Year</em>. London: Christie's, 1996.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 31
citation
<em>CMA Annual Report</em> (1996)
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 28 and 47; Reproduced: p. 38
citation
"International Auction Review." <em>Drawing </em>18, no. 2 (Fall 1996): 60-61.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 60; Reproduced: p. 61
citation
"International Auction Review." <em>On Paper </em>1, no. 1 (September-October 1996): 44-47.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 45
citation
"Adjugé." <em>L'objet d'art</em> 307 (November 1996): 22-23.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 22
citation
Russell, Francis. "The Ferretti Collection." <em>Christie's International Magazine </em>13, no. 5 (June 1996): 22-23.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 22-23; Reproduced: p. 23
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, “Rare Korean Screen Painting, Important Baroque Drawing, Sheeler Drawing Join the Museum Collection,” October 10, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
citation
"Principales Acquisitions des Musées en 1996." <em>Gazette des Beaux-Arts </em>139 (March 1997): 3-98.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 60, n. 230
citation
Foster, Carter E. "The Head of an Angel." <em>CMA Bulletin </em>(March 1997): 7.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 7
citation
Foster, Carter E., "The Head of an Angel" Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em>. Vol. 37 no. 03, March 1997
page_number
Mentioned & reproduced: p.7
citation
DeGrazia, Diane and Carter E. Foster. <em>Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 2000.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 11, 52-53, 285; Reproduced: p. 53, n. 16
creditline
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:16:09.713000
sourceId
159483
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - Italian
med
black chalk
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
514126316c786ab8