Allegory of the Church
Ca. 1778.On display elsewhere
A sketch for one of the frescoes for a segment of the dome at the chapel of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, with a meticulous and brilliant technique that still shows the influence of Italian artist Corrado Giaquinto. It depicts the central part of the allegory, whose figure appears veiled. She carries a double key in her left hand, while her right holds the rod and rests on a block. Numerous angels around her engage in a variety of activities, including a group of three on the right, who carry the tablets of the Ten Commandments, while hree others on the left appear to be reading and five at the lower center look on with a friendly attitude. Francisco Bayeu also painted other parts of the chapel, including the dome, with The Attributes of the Virgin; The Glory of the Lamb of God, over the main altarpiece; Faith and the Tablets of the Ten Commandments, across from it; Saint Luke Painting the Virgin, on the side of the Gospel and The Prophet Isaiah, on the side of the Epistles. The Allegory of Faith (D00601) deserves special mention as a preparatory drawing for the main figure of the sketch and fresco, and Ramón Bayeu´s drawing of Religion (D00588), which is an exact copy of that main figure, as well as the drawing of the Servant Angel (D00387), a study of the angel at the lower center of the composition.
