Elijah visited by the angel
Second half of the XVI century. Wash, Grey-brown ink, Pencil, Pencil strokes on laid paper.Not on display
The wall decoration for which this design was intended was presumably over an altar dedicated to the Eucharist. The Old Testament story of Elijah visited by an angel was a prolepsis for the Eucharist. The prophet, who had been drive into the desert by Jezebel, was about to die from hunger and thirst, when an angel appeared to him bringing sustenance. In the central compartment of the drawing the angel hands a loaf of bread to the prophet, who reclines on the ground beneath a juniper tree. In the niche to each side appears a putto holding a chalice with the host, while the inscription in the cartouche above is based on verse 56 of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John: He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Calvaert´s authorship of the drawing seems likely on stylistic grounds, thought only one other drawing for a decorative design attributed to the artist is known, that in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle (inv. no. 5092).
Turner, Nicholas, From Michelangelo to Annibale Carracci. A century of Italian drawings from the Prado, Chicago, Art Services International, 2008, p.224
