De heilige Andreas Avellinus en een geknielde heilige gezeten op een wolk

About this artwork

Prent uit een reeks van 8 prenten naar de fresco's door Giovanni Lanfranco in de koepel van de San Andrea della Valle te Rome.

Art Historical Context

This engraving by Carlo Cesio captures a heavenly vision of Saint Andrew Avellino and a kneeling companion seated upon billowing clouds, rendered with the dramatic upward sweep characteristic of Baroque ceiling decoration. Created between 1636 and 1686, the print belongs to a series of eight reproductive engravings that faithfully translate Giovanni Lanfranco’s celebrated frescoes in the dome of Sant’Andrea della Valle in Rome. Lanfranco’s original work, painted in the 1620s, was among the first great illusionistic domes of the Roman Baroque, opening the architecture to a radiant vision of saints ascending toward divine light. Cesio’s engraving played an important role in disseminating these innovative compositions beyond Rome. Working in the demanding medium of copperplate engraving, he translated the fresco’s sweeping movement, luminous modeling, and ethereal cloud effects into precise lines that could be printed and studied across Europe. Such reproductive prints allowed artists, patrons, and scholars to appreciate Lanfranco’s bold spatial illusions and emotional intensity long before photography existed. Measuring over half a meter in height, the sheet retains the monumental scale and vertical drama of the dome while inviting close examination of the saints’ expressive gestures and flowing draperies. Today it offers visitors a tangible connection to one of the most influential Baroque decorative programs in Rome.

About the Artist

Carlo Cesio · 1612–1692

Comment on works: religious