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Like the comparable sheet kept in the Clark collection, this angel is related to the ephemeral decor made in Saint Peter of Rome on the occasion of the canonization of Camille de Lellis, Catherine Ricci, Fidelis Sigmaringen, Giuseppe da Leonessa, and Pedro Regalado. The ceremony took place in St. Peter's on June 29, 1746. Most of the most important painters in Rome, such as Subleyras, Trevisani, and Costanzi, collaborated in the decoration under the direction of Luigi Vanvitelli.
Stefano Pozzi produced drawings for the nave decorations engraved by Giovanni Battista Sintes. An overview was engraved by Giuseppe Vasi after a drawing by Vanvitelli.
At each canonization ceremony, St. Peter's Basilica was specially decorated for the occasion and thus left the best artists of the moment the opportunity to produce mainly ephemeral works of which sometimes only written descriptions remain. This beautiful drawing proves that the artists did not neglect the quality of these works (although they were ephemeral and often placed very high), and today constitutes a magnificent and precious document for one of the most important canonizations eighteenth century.
Stefano Pozzi was the eldest son of an ivory sculptor. Gifted for painting, he was Andrea Procaccini's student before entering Masucci's studio. He was appointed Academician of Saint-Luc in 1742. His talent earned him many prestigious commissions among which, the decoration of the dome of Naples and that of the vault of Saint-Apollinaire requested by the pope. He made tapestry cartoons for the Pauline Chapel of the Vatican and for the King of Naples and decorated the Gabinetto degli Specchi of the Doria Pamphilij Palace.
Bibliography: N. Schwed, Old and modern drawings, Paris 2011, pp. 36-37, n. 17
Comparative Bibliography: F. Rangoni, Corpus delle feste a Roma / 2 - Il Settecento and the Ottocento, edited by Maurizio Fagiolo, Roma 1997, pp. 132-133, ill. 24
