Figure of a Military Saint in Glory / Sketches for a Saint Michael
Late XVII century. Grey-brown wash, Pencil, Red chalk on green paper.Not on display
The Saint is depicted standing on clouds, holding a spear and the palm branch of martyrdom in his hands. He appears in a noticeably foreshortened perspective from the bottom up, enclosed in a mixtilinear frame in the shape of a trapezoid.
On the verso, other sketches for a Saint Michael appear in the same formation, undoubtedly designed for wide pendentives. Some are in ink wash and others, very faint, are in red chalk.
It is a drawing from the end of the 17th century and is by an artist in Madrid, not dissimilar to the style of artists in Claudio Coello’s circle.
Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., Catálogo de Dibujos. Vol. I. Dibujos españoles siglos XV-XVII, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1972, p.159
