Ceiling Design with Psyche and Mercury n.d.

Pietro Liberi created this ceiling design with Psyche and Mercury using pen and brown ink with brown wash on paper. The monochromatic sepia tones create a sense of depth and shadow that emphasizes the figures’ dynamism. We are presented with an upward surge of forms, the composition creating a sense of movement and instability. Notice how Liberi employs diagonals and curvilinear lines to destabilize the established meanings, values, or categories. This is a preparatory sketch for a larger ceiling fresco. The use of wash creates tonal variation that helps to model the figures and architectural details, while the pen lines define their contours and add graphic sharpness. Observe the figures, their gestures and expressions, and how Liberi uses line and shading to give them form and volume. The formal qualities here – the dynamism, the dramatic lighting, and the figures’ idealized forms – align with Baroque aesthetics. The formal elements not only contribute to the artwork's aesthetic appeal but also participate in a broader cultural and philosophical discourse about beauty, emotion, and the power of art.