Coronation of the Virgin
circa 1605
16th century
20.6 cm x 37.3 cm (8 1/8 in. x 14 11/16 in.)
Cristoforo Roncalli, called Pomarancio
(1552 - 1626)
Primary
Object Type:
drawing
Artist Nationality:
Europe, Italian
Medium and Support:
Brush with black, white, and gray oil paint over traces of red chalk
Credit Line:
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Suida-Manning Collection, 2017
Accession Number:
2017.1323
Pomarancio led one of the busiest workshops in Rome. His vigorous and imposing style caught the eye of Clement VIII, and beginning in 1597 Pomarancio joined D’Arpino in the decoration of St. Peter’s and San Giovanni in Laterano. In 1599 Clement initiated a project for a grand sacristy at the sanctuary of Loreto, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Christendom. This drawing prepared the composition for the ceiling’s central compartment. The effective illusionism and its figures’ plasticity, as well as oil technique, are typical of Pomarancio’s style.