Study for Emperor Heraclius Carrying the Cross into Jerusalem
1647–1726
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk
Dimensions
14 11/16 x 20 7/16 in. (37.3 x 51.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.205
Tags
Art Historical Context
Gregorio de' Ferrari (7–1726), a prominent Genoese Baroque artist, created this dynamic preparatory drawing as a *Study for Emperor Heraclius the Cross into Jerusalem*. Rendered in pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash over chalk, the sheet measures 14 11/16 x 20 7/16 inches and captures a triumphant procession. Angels hover above, men with drums herald the event, horses rear dynamically, and the central cross is borne by Emperor Heraclius, ev the 7th-century Byzantine ruler's historic recovery of the True Cross from Persian captors in 629 AD and its ceremonial return to Jerusalem. This...