Design for a Wall Decoration: Representations of the Ascension and of the Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch

Design for a Wall Decoration: Representations of the Ascension and of the Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch

Giovanni de' Vecchi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the scene at left Christ ascends into a bank of clouds, having left his footprints on the summit of the Mount of Olives. At right of center Saint Philip has joined the Eunuch in his chariot and explains the passage of Isaiah the Ethiopian is reading, while in the background Saint Philip is seen baptizing his convert (Acts 8:26-40). The "bretessed bend" and the stars of the Aldobrandini arms that appear above the figure of Saint Philip could identify this project as a never-executed scheme commissioned by or proposed to Pope Clement VIII Aldobrandini, who reigned from 1592 to 1605. The convincing attribution to Giovanni de' Vecchi for this large, vibrant design for a wall decoration was first proposed by Philip Pouncey in 1965.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for a Wall Decoration: Representations of the Ascension and of the Conversion of the Ethiopian EunuchDesign for a Wall Decoration: Representations of the Ascension and of the Conversion of the Ethiopian EunuchDesign for a Wall Decoration: Representations of the Ascension and of the Conversion of the Ethiopian EunuchDesign for a Wall Decoration: Representations of the Ascension and of the Conversion of the Ethiopian EunuchDesign for a Wall Decoration: Representations of the Ascension and of the Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.