The Liberation of Saint Peter

Giovanni Battista della Rovere and his younger brother Giovanni Mauro were known as the Fiammenghini (‘little Flemings’). The nickname came from their father, who was a goldsmith from Antwerp. The two artists, active mainly in Lombardy, were known for their speed in executing large decorations. When working together on the same commissions the two artists often signed and dated the preparatory drawings they each made. In this case the drawing is initialed by Giovanni Battista and dated 1629, towards the end of the artist’s life. The practice of signing drawings was unusual and was probably motivated by the desire to differentiate their respective inventions in large collaborative projects. An example of a drawing signed by Giovanni Mauro is in the Princeton University Art Museum (inv. x1977-110; see L.M. Giles, in Italian Master Drawings from the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, 2014, no. 48, ill.).