Christ
1771. White chalk, Black chalk on green paper.Not on display
This is a preparatory drawing for the figure of Christ, intended for one of the eight sections of the cupola interior of the Collegiate church of La Granja de San Ildefonso, which was destroyed in the fire of 1920. The figure is depicted standing in profile to the left, with his right arm outstretched and his left arm raised. The study of the garment is very thorough. A preparatory drawing for this figure’s head (D000467) is extant. The subject is not well defined and is exclusively known from its sketches: one, titled Quo Vadis?, is in the Museo Provincial de Zaragoza; the other, titled Transfiguration, is in the Cavestany Collection and was reproduced in the catalogue from the exposition held in 1932. Neither of these two identifications is accurate, since in the iconography of the Quo Vadis? Christ must bear the cross on his back. In The Transfiguration – which most certainly existed in the cupola interior of the Collegiate church – there is another sketch (which came on the market in New York in 1975) that used to belong to Simonsen Collection in Sao Paulo, and for which the Museo del Prado keeps a drawing with a completely different composition.
Arnáez, Rocío, Catálogo de Dibujos. II. Dibujos españoles siglo XVIII. A-B, Madrid, 1975, p.52-53
