c. 1697

Study for the Altar of Saint Luigi Gonzaga in the Church of Saint Ignazio, Rome

Italian, 1642 - 1709

The Jesuit priest Padre Pozzo - who was a painter, architect, and theoretician - made this drawing in the early stages of developing his ideas for a grand altar decoration. The design includes an already existing architectural frame (aedicula) and proposes freestanding figures of the saint on his reliquary casket. The final sculpture took the form of a magnificent marble relief by Pierre Le Gros the Younger. On such projects several artists often worked together, or in succession; it was not unusual for a painter to provide the basic composition for a sculptor.