San Carlo Borromeo Adoring an Image of the Birth of the Virgin 1684 - 1687

Sigismondo Caula made this drawing, San Carlo Borromeo Adoring an Image of the Birth of the Virgin, using pen and brown ink with brown wash over black chalk. The image depicts Carlo Borromeo, a 16th-century Italian cardinal, in a moment of pious devotion. The work was made in the late 17th or early 18th century, a period when the Catholic Church was still a major political and cultural force in Italy. Caula was working during the Counter-Reformation, and this drawing embodies the renewed emphasis on religious imagery and the veneration of saints promoted by the Catholic Church during that time. The idealized depiction and dramatic lighting serve to inspire religious fervor, reinforcing the Church’s authority. To understand this drawing fully, we might examine the history of the Borromeo family and the Counter-Reformation. Considering this artwork as a product of its specific historical context allows us to appreciate its deeper meanings and cultural significance.