The Vision of Saint Benedict

1740
Not on view
Saint Benedict stands at the center of the composition, looking upward at an apparition of the Holy Trinity, while around the saint are gathered members of the male and female religious orders that follow his monastic rule, as well as lay men and women devoted to his cult. The drawing is a study with a number of variations for a ceiling fresco, signed by de Mura and dated 1740, at the center of the nave of the Neapolitan church of Saints Severino e Sossio. In the number and in the placement of the figures, an oil sketch at the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples is closer to the finished fresco than our drawing.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Vision of Saint Benedict
  • Artist: Francesco de Mura (Italian, Naples 1696–1782 Naples)
  • Date: 1740
  • Medium: Pen and brown and gray ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite
  • Dimensions: 22-1/4 x 15 in. (56.5 x 38.1 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.191
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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