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Saint John the Evangelist

1598–99
Not on view
An eighteenth-century English inscription on the back of the old mount correctly identifies this drawing as a study for one of Giovanni de' Vecchi's most important commissions, the cartoons for two of the mosaic pendentives under dome in Saint Peter's. As recorded in 1642 by the biographer Giovanni Baglione ("Nella gran Basilica Vaticana il cartoni delli due Vangelisti di musaico Giovanni, e Luca sono forme magnifiche del suo ingegno") cartoons for the figures of Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Luke in colossal medallions were supplied by de' Vecchi, while those for the figures of Saint Matthew and Saint Mark were designed by Cesare Nebbia. De' Vecchi and Nebbia prepared the cartoons between 1598 and 1599, and actual work on the mosaics began in late 1599 and continued through early 1601. Vibrantly drawn in pen and brown ink over black chalk, and extensively highlighted with white gouache, Giovanni de' Vecchi's study corresponds fairly closely to the mosaic in St. Peter's, though in the latter the Evangelist looks down rather than gazing to upper right.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint John the Evangelist
  • Artist: Giovanni de' Vecchi (Italian, Borgo Sansepolcro 1536/37–1615 Rome)
  • Date: 1598–99
  • Medium: Pen and dark brown ink, extensively highlighted with white, over black chalk, on beige paper; squared in black chalk
  • Dimensions: 10-7/16 x 9-15/16 in. (26.5 x 25.2 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1964
  • Object Number: 64.295.3
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Design for a Wall Decoration: Representations of the Ascension and of the Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch, Giovanni de' Vecchi Italian, Pen and brown ink, over black chalk (architectural elements); red chalk, pen and brown ink, traces of black chalk (narrative scenes)
Design for a Wall Decoration: Representations of the Ascension and of the Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch
Giovanni de' Vecchi
ca. 1600
Standing Figure of Saint Peter Holding Book and Keys., Giovanni de' Vecchi Italian, Pen and two shades of brown ink, brush and pale brown wash, over traces of black chalk
Standing Figure of Saint Peter Holding Book and Keys.
Giovanni de' Vecchi
1536/7–1615
Esther and Mordecai before King Ahasuerus (Esther 8:1- 12), Giovanni de' Vecchi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk
Esther and Mordecai before King Ahasuerus (Esther 8:1- 12)
Giovanni de' Vecchi
1536/7–1615
Lucretia, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Pen and brown ink over black chalk, partially incised with a stylus (recto); rubbed with black chalk for transfer (verso)
Lucretia
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
1508–10
Three Standing Figures (recto); Seated Woman and a Male Hermit in Half-length (verso), Stefano da Verona (Stefano di Giovanni d'Arbosio di Francia) Italian, Pen and brown ink, over traces of charcoal or black chalk (recto); pen and brown ink, brush with touches of brown wash, over traces of charcoal or black chalk (verso)
Three Standing Figures (recto); Seated Woman and a Male Hermit in Half-length (verso)
Stefano da Verona (Stefano di Giovanni d'Arbosio di Francia)
1435–38

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