Artwork
Sketch for "The Four Prophets of Israel" (for Il Gesù, Rome)
Sketch for "The Four Prophets of Israel" (for Il Gesù, Rome) is an unspecified painting by the Barbizon school artist Giovanni Battista Gaulli. It dates from 1676 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
The work is a modest oil sketch portraying the biblical prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, each rendered as bearded figures holding scrolls. Executed as a preparatory study, it anticipates the larger frescoes that would occupy the pendentives of the Jesuit Church of the Gesù in Rome.
Subject & Meaning
The four prophets are presented in solemn, contemplative poses, emphasizing their role as bearers of divine revelation. The inclusion of a youthful Daniel, positioned more prominently, suggests a narrative focus on his prophetic vision within the overall program of the church’s decoration.
Technique & Style
Created in oil on panel, the sketch functions as a bozzetto, allowing the artist to experiment with composition, figure arrangement, and colour palette before committing to fresco. The medium permits rapid modelling of light and shadow, essential for visualising the complex inverted‑triangle shape of a pendentive.
History & Provenance
The drawing is one of seven similar studies made by Giovanni Batta Gaulli, a leading Roman decorative painter of the late 17th century, in preparation for his celebrated vault frescoes at the Gesù. The study later entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is currently displayed.
Context
In the Baroque period, large ecclesiastical commissions often required extensive planning. Gaulli’s use of oil sketches reflects the Italian tradition of meticulous preparatory work, ensuring that the final frescoes would integrate harmoniously with the architectural curvature of the church’s pendentives.
Artist & collection
Artist
Giovanni Battista Gaulli (8 May 1639 – 2 April 1709), also known as Baciccio or Baciccia (Genoese nicknames for Giovanni Battista), was an Italian Baroque painter working in the High Baroque and early Rococo periods.
Die Fürbitte des Heiligen Gregor für die Seelen im Fegefeuer
Study for "An Apotheosis of a Saint" (for San Bernardino dei Morti, Milan)
The Glorification of Saint Dominic
Saints Presenting a Devout Woman to the Virgin and Child
Saints Presenting a Devout Woman to the Virgin and Child
Study for "An Apotheosis of a Saint" (for San Bernardino dei Morti, Milan)
The Virgin and Child Enthroned, with Angels and Two Saints
Sketch for "The Assumption of the Virgin" (for St. James, Zbraslav, near Prague)?
Boreas is robbing Orethyia
Allegorical Religious Scene with the Virgin Mary II
The Risen Christ Appearing to the Virgin