Artwork
La Santa Faz
La Santa Faz is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Corrado Giaquinto. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1750, this oil on canvas by Italian painter Corrado Giaquinto is part of the collection at Madrid’s Museo del Prado. The work presents a nocturnal interior where two youthful angels hold a white drapery edged in red, set against a darkened backdrop that hints at blue and brown tones.
Subject & Meaning
The central figures are a pair of cherubic angels, one clad in pink, the other in blue, each supporting the cloth as if preparing it for a ritual or offering. Scattered objects, books, a lantern, and miscellaneous items, populate the floor, suggesting a scholarly or devotional setting and inviting contemplation of the sacred object they bear.
Technique & Style
Giaquinto employs pronounced chiaroscuro, allowing the illuminated forms of the angels and the cloth to emerge from the surrounding gloom. The delicate modeling of flesh and the subtle gradations of color convey a sense of movement, while the contrast between the bright drapery and the shadowed environment heightens the visual drama.
History & Provenance
The painting entered the Prado Museum’s holdings in the 19th century, where it has remained on display. Its attribution to Giaquinto, a leading Rococo artist active in the mid‑18th century, aligns with his known oeuvre of religious and mythological subjects rendered in a luminous, theatrical manner.
Artist & collection
Artist
Corrado Giaquinto was an Italian Rococo painter who worked in Naples, Rome, Turin and Madrid.
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