Ontwerp voor een baroklijst 1570 - 1613

This is Cigoli's sketch in pen and brown ink with grey wash, for a baroque frame. We can think of it as a product of the intense artistic activity of the late 16th and early 17th centuries in Italy, as well as being the visualisation of the relationship between artist and patron. At this time, the Roman Catholic Church sought to represent itself as the true church. Following the Council of Trent, the Church was in need of decoration in accordance with its importance, and there was a subsequent increase in artistic patronage. Aristocratic families competed with each other to build palaces, fill them with works of art and demonstrate their wealth and social standing. Cigoli's image exemplifies the visual codes of this era, filled with cherubic figures. To fully understand the history of this image and the final product, a historian would delve into the archives of the patron for whom Cigoli was working, perhaps even examining related correspondence. Art is a product of particular social conditions.