Angels and Putti Flying with a Garland: Design for a Ceiling
c. 1675
Medium
red and black chalk with touches of white chalk, squared in black chalk on light gray paper (formerly blue), with later framing line in brown ink
Dimensions
sheet: 25.9 × 40 cm (10 3/16 × 15 3/4 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Donald Stone
Accession Number
2022.40.23
Art Historical Context
Charles de La Fosse’s *Angels and Putti Flying with a Garland* (c. 1675) is a lively preparatory study for a ceiling decoration, capturing the buoyant energy of Baroque illusionism. The French artist, known for his work on grand decorative programs at Versailles and other royal residences, used this drawing to plan a heavenly scene that would appear to float above viewers. The composition’s upward sweep of winged figures bearing a floral garland reflects the period’s taste for dramatic, light-filled spaces that blurred the boundary between architecture and painted sky. Executed in red and bla...