Museum Exhibition

Catalogue of Works

Looking Up: Studies for Ceilings, 1550-1800

National Gallery of Art

28 documented works

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Tavarone, Lazzaro

A Ceiling Decoration with Landscapes and Battles

c. 1620

pen, brown ink, watercolor and black chalk on laid paper

overall: 38.6 x 37.8 cm (15 3/16 x 14 7/8 in.)

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Kern, Anton

A Ceiling with Apollo Presiding over Military and Historical Learning

1740s

watercolor, pen and gray ink over traces of black chalk on laid paper

overall: 34.1 x 44.4 cm (13 7/16 x 17 1/2 in.)

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Giani, Felice

A Coffered Dome with Apollo and Phaeton

c. 1787

pen and brown ink with gray, blue, and pink washes over black chalk on wove paper

overall: 34.9 x 27 cm (13 3/4 x 10 5/8 in.)

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Ferrari, Lorenzo De

A Female Figure Seated on an Entablature, Holding a Distaff

c. 1700/1710

black chalk on laid paper

sheet: 29.1 × 20.8 cm (11 7/16 × 8 3/16 in.)

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Bibiena, Ferdinando Galli

A Grand Illusionistic Ceiling

1720/1740

pen and brown ink with gray and brown washes over graphite on laid paper

overall: 60.1 x 105.9 cm (23 11/16 x 41 11/16 in.)

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Canuti, Domenico Maria

A Male Herm

c. 1669

charcoal and white heightening on tan paper

overall: 43 x 29.2 cm (16 15/16 x 11 1/2 in.)

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Zuccaro, Taddeo

A Man Seen from Behind [recto]

c. 1555

red chalk heightened with white on laid paper

overall (approximate): 34.4 x 18.3 cm (13 9/16 x 7 3/16 in.)

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Quarenghi, Giacomo

An Ornate Ceiling with an Allegory of Spring

1790/1815

pen and black ink with watercolor over graphite on faintly blued-green laid paper

overall: 47.7 × 34.7 cm (18 3/4 × 13 11/16 in.)

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La Fosse, Charles de

Angels and Putti Flying with a Garland: Design for a Ceiling

c. 1675

red and black chalk with touches of white chalk, squared in black chalk on light gray paper (formerly blue), with later framing line in brown ink

sheet: 25.9 × 40 cm (10 3/16 × 15 3/4 in.)

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Boucher, François

Aurora Heralding the Arrival of the Morning Sun

c. 1765

brown and black chalk with stumping, heightened with white chalk on buff laid paper

overall (octagonal): 46 x 40.2 cm (18 1/8 x 15 13/16 in.)

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Procaccini, Giulio Cesare

Ceiling Studies of a Prophet and a Putto Seen from Below

c. 1602/1607

oiled black chalk or charcoal, heightened with white chalk on blue-green laid paper

sheet: 22 x 30.3 cm (8 11/16 x 11 15/16 in.)

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Guerra, Giovanni

Ceiling with Allegorical Figures and the Arms of Pope Sixtus V (Guerra's outer drawing); Saint Joseph and the Christ Child (Viani's central drawing)

outer drawing c. 1587; central drawing after 1690; attachments c. 1700-1725

pen and brown ink with brown wash over black chalk on heavy laid paper (outer drawing); graphite on heavy laid paper (central drawing); gold leaf borders and paper cut-outs adhered to oculi (Talman additions)

center section (octagon): 23.3 x 16.2 cm (9 3/16 x 6 3/8 in.) Overall (ceiling design): 51.1 x 41.8 cm (20 1/8 x 16 7/16 in.) mount: 53.3 x 44 cm (21 x 17 5/16 in.)

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Coypel, Antoine

Cupid Stealing Venus's Floral Crown

1705/1708

orange-red, white, and black chalk, squared for transfer in black chalk, on blue laid paper; laid down

overall: 32.9 x 24.1 cm (12 15/16 x 9 1/2 in.)

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Sustris, Friedrich

Euterpe (Personification of Music)

1569/1573

pen and black ink with gray wash, heightened with white gouache, on gray-green laid paper squared in black chalk

sheet: 27.3 × 20.3 cm (10 3/4 × 8 in.) mount: 30.9 × 23.9 cm (12 3/16 × 9 7/16 in.)

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Pozzo, Andrea

Illusionistic Architecture for the Vault of San Ignazio

1685/1690

pen and gray and brown ink with gray wash on two joined sheets of heavy laid paper

overall: 50.4 x 91.2 cm (19 13/16 x 35 7/8 in.)

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Italian 16th Century

Illusionistic Ceiling with a Grape Arbor, Figures Poised on Galleries, and a Central Scene of Olympian Gods

c. 1580/1590

pen and brown ink with brown wash, heightened with white, over black chalk on brown paper (sheet enlarged at right and bottom by the artist)

overall: 39.7 x 26.6 cm (15 5/8 x 10 1/2 in.)

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Poussin, Nicolas

Modello for a Ceiling: Diana and the Dead Endymion, the Judgment of Paris, and the Death of Adonis

1640/1642 (?)

pen and brown ink with brown wash over black chalk on laid paper

overall: 32 x 31.5 cm (12 5/8 x 12 3/8 in.)

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Benucci, Giuseppe

Presentation Drawing for the Ceiling Fresco of the Ognissanti

c. 1769

pen and black ink with gray and brown wash and watercolor over traces of chalk on four joined pieces of laid paper

overall: 43.2 x 145.2 cm (17 x 57 3/16 in.)

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Garzi, Luigi

Saint Catherine of Siena on a Cloud

1696/1697

black chalk heightened with white chalk on blue laid paper

sheet: 38.6 × 27.2 cm (15 3/16 × 10 11/16 in.)

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Carracci, Annibale

Satyr Holding a Roundel

1597/1600

black chalk on gray-blue paper

overall: 38.3 x 25.9 cm (15 1/16 x 10 3/16 in.)

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Fancelli, Pietro

Studies of Aurora and Apollo

1794

pen and brown ink, squared for transfer

overall: 71.2 x 49.8 cm (28 1/16 x 19 5/8 in.)

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Urlaub, Georg Anton

The Adoration of the Magi

1756

pen and brown ink with brown and gray wash, heightened with white gouache and yellow chalk, over graphite with traces of pricking on blue laid paper

overall: 28.9 x 19.8 cm (11 3/8 x 7 13/16 in.)

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Carlone, Carlo Innocenzo

The Apotheosis of Saint Euphemia

1759/1760

pen and light brown ink with gray wash over graphite, strengthened with tip of the brush and dark gray wash, squared in red chalk on cream laid paper

sheet: 81 × 56.1 cm (31 7/8 × 22 1/16 in.)

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Asam, Cosmas Damian

The Ascension of Christ

1720

red chalk with gray wash on laid paper

sheet: 28.5 x 38.6 cm (11 1/4 x 15 3/16 in.)

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Wit, Jacob de

The Judgment of Paris

c. 1731

red chalk on laid paper

overall: 33.2 x 46.1 cm (13 1/16 x 18 1/8 in.)

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Dieffenbrunner, Johann Georg

The Stoning of Saint Stephen

1754

pen and black ink with watercolor over traces of graphite on laid paper

sheet: 52.2 x 27.6 cm (20 9/16 x 10 7/8 in.)

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Retti, Livio

The Triumph of Virtue and Divine Wisdom

1736

pen and brown ink with brown wash over graphite on laid paper

sheet: 44.3 x 54.1 cm (17 7/16 x 21 5/16 in.)

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Günther, Matthäus

Worshippers at the Tomb of Saint Peter

1740/1741

watercolor, gouache, and graphite over pen and brown ink, indented with a stylus, on pink-gray prepared paper, squared with graphite for transfer

sheet: 48.2 x 36.2 cm (19 x 14 1/4 in.), trimmed to a roughly circular shape with ornamental lobes and angles image: 38 x 35.4 cm (14 15/16 x 13 15/16 in.)

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