Marble
University of Notre Dame
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Saint Helena Directing Excavations

Date

ca. 1633-1634

Creator

Giovanni Bilivert

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

One of Bilivert's last major projects was his work in the Cappella Bonsi in the Theatine Church of San Gaetano, Florence. First contracted in 1632, Bilivert completed the painting in 1636 or 1637 for which the Raclin Murphy [Snite] drawing is preparatory...The subject of the drawing has often been mistaken as the Discovery of the True Cross. This high point of the narrative, however, is found in [Matteo] Rosselli's altarpiece in the Bonsi Chapel, which depicts St. Helena's interaction with the rediscovered True Cross and her exaltation and adoration of the relic. The figures in Bilvert's drawing and oil painting represent a different aspect of the narrative, that is, the moments immediately before the finding of the Cross in which the saint supervises the laboring excavators. from Coleman, Seminar in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century: Old Masterworks on Paper (Notre Dame, 2013)

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One of Bilivert's last major projects was his work in the Cappella Bonsi in the Theatine Church of San Gaetano, Florence. First contracted in 1632, Bilivert completed the painting in 1636 or 1637 for which the Raclin Murphy [Snite] drawing is preparatory...The subject of the drawing has often been mistaken as the Discovery of the True Cross. This high point of the narrative, however, is found in [Matteo] Rosselli's altarpiece in the Bonsi Chapel, which depicts St. Helena's interaction with the rediscovered True Cross and her exaltation and adoration of the relic. The figures in Bilvert's drawing and oil painting represent a different aspect of the narrative, that is, the moments immediately before the finding of the Cross in which the saint supervises the laboring excavators. from Coleman, Seminar in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century: Old Masterworks on Paper (Notre Dame, 2013)
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  • One of Bilivert's last major projects was his work in the Cappella Bonsi in the Theatine Church of San Gaetano, Florence. First contracted in 1632, Bilivert completed the painting in 1636 or 1637 for which the Raclin Murphy [Snite] drawing is preparatory...The subject of the drawing has often been mistaken as the Discovery of the True Cross. This high point of the narrative, however, is found in [Matteo] Rosselli's altarpiece in the Bonsi Chapel, which depicts St. Helena's interaction with the rediscovered True Cross and her exaltation and adoration of the relic. The figures in Bilvert's drawing and oil painting represent a different aspect of the narrative, that is, the moments immediately before the finding of the Cross in which the saint supervises the laboring excavators. from Coleman, Seminar in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century: Old Masterworks on Paper (Notre Dame, 2013)
  • One of Bilivert's last major projects was his work in the Cappella Bonsi in the Theatine Church of San Gaetano, Florence. First contracted in 1632, Bilivert completed the painting in 1636 or 1637 for which the Raclin Murphy [Snite] drawing is preparatory...The subject of the drawing has often been mistaken as the Discovery of the True Cross. This high point of the narrative, however, is found in [Matteo] Rosselli's altarpiece in the Bonsi Chapel, which depicts St. Helena's interaction with the rediscovered True Cross and her exaltation and adoration of the relic. The figures in Bilvert's drawing and oil painting represent a different aspect of the narrative, that is, the moments immediately before the finding of the Cross in which the saint supervises the laboring excavators. from Coleman, Seminar in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century: Old Masterworks on Paper (Notre Dame, 2013)
Giovanni Bilivert (Italian, 1585 - 1644)
ca. 1633-1634
Drawings
Black chalk and pen and brown ink on laid paper, laid down
2014.061.124
saints
Not on view, please request access
12 3/4 x 9 1/4 in. (32.54 x 23.34 cm)
Bequest of John D. Reilly, ND '63, '64

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.