Study for Emperor Heraclius Carrying the Cross into Jerusalem
1647–1726
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk
Dimensions
14 11/16 x 20 7/16 in. (37.3 x 51.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.205
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Gregorio de' Ferrari (7–1726), a prominent Genoese Baroque artist, created this dynamic preparatory drawing as a *Study for Emperor Heraclius the Cross into Jerusalem*. Rendered in pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash over chalk, the sheet measures 14 11/16 x 20 7/16 inches and captures a triumphant procession. Angels hover above, men with drums herald the event, horses rear dynamically, and the central cross is borne by Emperor Heraclius, ev the 7th-century Byzantine ruler's historic recovery of the True Cross from Persian captors in 629 AD and its ceremonial return to Jerusalem. This...