Head and Shoulders of a Youth, Looking Up to the Left

This is a study for the head of the Archangel Gabriel in the fresco 'Allegory of the Triumph of Christ' painted in about 1614 - 1615 on the cupola of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament in Ravenna Cathedral, Italy. The fresco was commissioned by the Archbishop of Ravenna, Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, nephew of the former Pope Clement VIII.

Although no doubt drawn from a live model, Reni has given this drawing an air of elegant refinement appropriate to the Archangel Gabriel. The fresco itself is no longer in good condition, having been restored on a couple of occaisions. A study such as this is the best way to enjoy the graceful beauty of Reni's original concept, which won the praise of his contemporaries. The artist Cavaliere d'Arpino said of him: 'we paint like mere mortals, he paints like an angel'.