Sketch for the plafond Adoration of Madonna

Sigrist employed loose, expressive brushwork and a restrained palette dominated by earthy browns and muted golds. The paint is applied with visible texture, capturing the immediacy of a working draft. Rather than polished finish, the sketch prioritizes dynamic arrangement and light placement, revealing how the artist tested spatial relationships and focal emphasis before executing the final ceiling painting.

Created during Sigrist’s active period in Central Europe, the sketch remained in the artist’s circle before entering the National Museum in Warsaw’s collection. Its preservation suggests recognition of its value as a preparatory document, offering insight into 18th-century ecclesiastical art production. No detailed records of its early ownership are widely documented, but its presence in the museum since the 19th century confirms its established provenance.

In the late 18th century, ceiling paintings in churches and palaces often required detailed preparatory studies due to their scale and technical complexity. Sigrist, working within the Baroque and early Neoclassical traditions, would have collaborated with architects and patrons to align visual narratives with sacred architecture. This sketch reflects the collaborative, process-driven nature of large-scale religious commissions of the era.

Though the final ceiling fresco has not survived or remains unidentified, this sketch endures as a tangible link to Sigrist’s creative method. It provides scholars with insight into how artists translated devotional themes into architectural spaces, preserving the transitional phase between concept and execution. Its existence underscores the importance of preparatory works in understanding historical artistic practice.