Lot Essay
A study for the pendentive in Sant'Agnese, Rome which was commissioned before December 1666 and unveiled in January 1672, R. Enggass, The Paintings of Baciccio, Pennsylvania, 1964, fig. 15. Sant'Agnese was the church of the Pamphili and the family asked Bernini, who had designed for them the Fountain of the Four Rivers in the Piazza outside, to recommend an artist for the pendentives. Bernini introduced the young Baciccio to the Prince and he won the commission. It was the largest and most prestigious commission he had ever received, and the lengthy preparatory process reflects both the importance of the project and the fact that he had probably never before worked in fresco. Bozzetti for the Faith and Charity pendentive are in Galleria Nazionale, Rome and formerly in the Mentasi Collection, Rome, R. Enggass, op. cit., figs. 10 and 12