An Allegory in Honor of Innocent X

1644

Pietro Testa

Associated Names
Pietro Testa

Artist, Italian, 1612 - 1650

This is a drawing of a complex allegorical scene. The image is crowded with numerous figures and symbolic elements. At the top left, there is a celestial figure amongst clouds within a semi-circular frame. Below, figures are engaged in various activities, surrounded by elements such as an angel, animals, and circular medallions and structures. The figures display a range of expressions and poses. The scene is balanced by architectural elements and depictions of nature including trees and flowing water.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 40.2 x 50.5 cm (15 13/16 x 19 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1991.83.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Bartsch 1802 - 1821, no. 31

Artwork history & notes

Bibliography

1802

  • Bartsch, Adam. Le peintre graveur. 21 vols. Vienna, 1802-1821: no. 31

1984

  • Cropper, Elizabeth.The ideal of painting : Pietro Testa’s Düsseldorf notebook. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1984, no. 86, ii/iv.

1988

  • Cropper, Elizabeth. Pietro Testa 1612 - 1650: Prints and Drawings. Philadelphia, 1988: no. 85-86, ii/iv

Inscriptions

within plate image, lower left in plate: Si Stampano alla Pace per Gio:Domenico Rofsi / in Roma; lower right in plate: Dno Stephano Garbefi Nobili Vero optime de fe merito / Petr us Tefta beneficiorum non immemor DD; center verso in brown ink: Testa 42 n

Wikidata ID

Q74891060

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