Study for the 'Essequie' Conducted in San Lorenzo, Florence, in 1637 in Honour of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II

1637

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Study for the 'Essequie' Conducted in San Lorenzo, Florence, in 1637 in Honour of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II is a 1637 by Alfonso Parigi, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Alfonso Parigi
When & what style?: 1637 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a busy sketch of a church turned into a funeral stage: skeletons, angels, and swags of black cloth crowd the page. This is a backstage pass to a Medici spectacle. The family loved over-the-top mourning—skulls mixed with gold, candles, and fake ruins. The drawing was a blueprint for the real event, a show of power after an emperor’s death. To see how other artists turned death into theater, look up *subject: italy, florence, 17th century*.