God the Father and the Holy Spirit Receiving the Body of Christ

1660/1665

Guglielmo Cortese

Associated Names
Guglielmo Cortese

Artist, Italian, born France, 1628 - 1679

The image features two central main figures. The figure on the left is semi-reclined, draped with a cloth around the waist, and showing detailed musculature. The person has relaxed facial features with eyes closed and flowing hair. On the right, another figure is seated upright, with one arm stretched outward and a hand resting on the reclining figure. This person has a full beard and wavy hair, depicted with strong facial features. Surrounding them are smaller human forms resembling cherubs or angels with visible wings. At the top, there is a radiant bird, with light beams shining down. The background consists of clouds, creating an ethereal ambiance.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    red and black chalk with sanguine and gray wash, heightened with white gouache, on beige laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 40.2 x 29 cm (15 13/16 x 11 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2007.111.59

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Jacques Petithory, Paris (not in Lugt). (sale, Nouveau Drouot, Paris, 1-2 March 1983, no. 42, as "attributed to Lodovico Carracci). Private collection, Zurich; Wolfgang Ratjen, Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1995

  • Fünfzig italienische Zeichnungen des 16.-18. Jahrhunderts aus der Stiftung Ratjen, Vaduz. Liechtensteinischen Staatlichen Kunstsammlung,. Vaduz, 1995, no. 29.

1996

  • Italian Drawings from the Ratjen Foundation, Vaduz. The Frick Collection, New York. Bern, 1996, no. 29.

2011

  • Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525-1835, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2011, no. 35.

Bibliography

2011

  • Tarantino, Antoine, ed. Peindre à Rome. Exh. cat. Galerie Antoine Tarantino, Paris, 2011: 46, reprod. p. 49, under no. 9 (entry by Valeria Di Giuseppe Di Paolo).

Inscriptions

verso, a red chalk sketch of the lower half of Christ's body supported by angels; inscribed at bottom center, brown ink, A: Carats. [illegible] Carraci/nacquit in Bologna 1560. ob: 1609/ Malvasia p:3 fol:357. Bellorio. f.o 19.

Watermarks

a bird standing on three mountains in a circle surmounted by a letter [similar to Heawood 161]

Wikidata ID

Q64572774

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