Sketch for the Rear Arched Area of a Chapel, with an Angel and Three Putti Holding Up a Plate with the Head of the Baptist 1700 - 1780

This anonymous 18th-century drawing, "Sketch for the Rear Arched Area of a Chapel, with an Angel and Three Putti Holding Up a Plate with the Head of the Baptist," is a preparatory study for a larger fresco or painting. The sketch depicts an angel and three putti, or cherubs, holding a plate with the head of John the Baptist. The drawing is a good example of the Baroque style, which was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Baroque style is characterized by its dramatic use of light and shadow, its emphasis on movement and emotion, and its use of ornate and theatrical elements. This sketch, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a valuable glimpse into the creative process of an anonymous artist during the Baroque era.