The Triumph of the Cross

The steep perspective of the cross and the suggestion of heaven's spatial infinity indicate that Eugenio Cajés probably made this square drawing as a preparatory study for a ceiling painting, probably in a chapel dedicated to the cross. In his late work, Cajés characteristically employed these graceful figures, these rhythmically flowing forms, and this chiaroscuro effect in brush and wash. His convincing illusionism in rendering the cross required extensive knowledge of perspective, which he may have gained from his study of Italian architecture.