Saint Cecilia Gm-00035001

Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri) (Italian, 1581–1641) Tilting her head back, an ecstatic Saint Cecilia gazes heavenward in an appropriate martyr's pose. Virgin martyr and the patron saint of music, Cecilia is thought to have lived in the 100s or 200s A.D. After laborers discovered her miraculously preserved body beneath the altar of the Church of Santa Cecilia in 1599, her cult grew strong in Rome, and artists portrayed her often, because she represented the union of religion and music.

Domenichino probably made this drawing in preparation for his fresco decorations in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, on which he worked from 1612 to 1615. Scholars identify this female head as Saint Cecilia based on its similarity to the Cecilia in that fresco, where she wears the same expression of ecstasy as putti carry her up to heaven.

The pricking on this sheet shows that Domenichino's assistants probably transferred its outlines to another sheet, most likely the Musée du Louvre's much larger cartoon for the entire fresco. In the Louvre cartoon, Cecilia's head corresponds more closely to the fresco, so scholars assume that the Louvre cartoon was later. The four pieces of paper that comprise this sheet show that this fragment was also originally part of a larger cartoon.

High Quality Wood Framed Print using museum quality paper and archival inks with a mat for a contemporary look. Comes with Acrylite glazing and hanging hardware. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Stretched Canvas is stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed on heavy cotton poly matte finish canvas. Comes with mounting brackets. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Giclee Prints are printed on 250 gsm Matte Paper with the finest archival inks. Each print carries a white border around the perimeter. The listed size refers to the overall paper dimensions. The image is printed proportionally within this paper size and includes a small white border. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea.