Detail Study for The Assumption of St. Agnes
1670/90
Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache, over black chalk, on tan laid paper
26 × 39.1 cm (10.2 × 15.4 in)
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Not currently on view
In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026
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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG
Gaulli executed his first major commission, of four large frescoes for the Pamphili family, between 1666 and 1672 in the church of Sant’Agnese in the Piazza Navona, Rome. When the original artist chosen for the project died, Gaulli was one of several invited to take over the work, and this appears to be one of his early studies for the project. It depicts saints and angels seated among the clouds, an illusionistic scene intended to connect the heavenly realm with the world of the faithful.
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