Saint Peter in Cattedra Surrounded by Acanthus

Notwithstanding the appearance of the Baroque language in Rome around the turn of the 16th century, the Cavalier d'Arpino remained the most successful painter in high ecclesiastical circles by securing the patronage of the papal nephew, Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, and becoming the favorite artist of Clement VIII. His paintings maintain a conservative, later Mannerist style, with arbitrary patterning and sharp-edged description, but add a grandiose rhetoric and a lovely, transparent color. Further distinguishing his drawings is the juxtaposition of calligraphic contour with delicately hatched modeling, as well as the frequent combination of red and black chalks.  Formerly this drawing was thought to be a study for an engraved book illustration or the decoration of an ecclesiastical garment, but scholars now suggest that this drawing is related to the artist's commission to design the mosaics of the cupola of St. Peter's cathedral, making this one of only three surviving studies for an early version of the commission.