The Virgin Immaculate and Four Male Saints (Study for The Dispute over the Immaculate Conception)

Maratti painted an altarpiece of this theologically complex subject- Saint John the Evangelist Expounding the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception to Saints Gregory, Augustine, and John Chrysostom-for the Cybo Chapel in S. Maria del Popolo in Rome. The work was completed in 1686, and the chapel was consecrated the following year. Another composition study for the same painting, executed in a different technique, is in the Museum's collection (inv. 63.18). In that related study, John the Evangelist stands to the right. Here, his pose has been reversed and he has been shifted to the left, while still gesturing at the open Book of Revelation held by Saint Gregory. The composition recorded in this drawing is closer to the final scheme, although Maratti introduced further revisions to the arrangement of the figures in the painting. In addition to the two composition studies for the Cybo Chapel altarpiece, there is in the Museum's collection a drawing by Maratti for the seated figure of Saint Gregory (inv. 1981.364).