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Cristoforo Roncalli

Three Studies of Angels for a Pendentive (recto)

1599/1604
red chalk; squared in red chalk (left half), framing lines in red chalk

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

In 1590, a generation after Michelangelo’s death, the dome he designed for Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome was finally completed. In 1597 Pope Clement VIII commissioned the mosaic decoration of the interior of the dome, choosing Cristoforo Roncalli in part because of his training in Florence, an origin he shared with Michelangelo. Roncalli made this preparatory drawing for the angels that would appear at each side of the four Evangelists in the trapezoidal spaces where the dome meets the supporting arches, called pendentives. Roncalli practiced rendering the foreshortened human form in three studies across the sheet, which are early stages of the design.

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Studies for Christ Meeting His Mother on the Road to Calvary, Studies of an Angel in a Pendentive (verso)Studies for Christ Meeting His Mother on the Road to CalvaryStudy for Saint Philip Neri Rescuing a Drowning YouthStudy for Saint Philip Neri Rescuing a Drowning YouthThree Studies of Angels for a Pendentive (recto); Studies for Christ Meeting His Mother on the Road to Calvary, Studies of an Angel in a Pendentive (verso)Three Studies of Angels for a Pendentive (recto); Studies fHead of a YouthHead of a YouthWoman Seated on CloudsWoman Seated on CloudsPutto with Raised ArmsPutto with Raised Arms

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